Collide
by TS Allen
Summary: In an effort to help a friend, the Glee club is sent on a cross-country road trip to California, a time when Matt and Mike realize there's something between each other that must be more than friendship. Takes place in the summer between Season 1 and 2.
1. Auditions

**Okay, so this is my first fic, and I'm curious to see if it can go anywhere. I will tell you, though, that I've rewritten the beginning three times already and could not rest with any of them, so I've uploaded the first three chapters because of my lack of confidence in the first two. If this story does go on for a while, though, I do have plans to rewrite the first two chapters. Please, please, please read and tell me what you think in a review! Of course, as always, please no flames, but I do beg for constructive criticism! In case it hasn't registered, this will be a Matt/Mike slash fic for the most part, but it will also be heavily focusing on the relationships, both romantically and friendly, within the Glee club, so hopefully we will see unlikely pairs of characters become the closest of friends.**** But enough of that, I must be boring you to death. Let's get on to the story. Enjoy!**

**_Disclaimer: I own nothing :-(_**

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_Collide_

_Chapter One - Auditions_

Right now, families are scattered across the beaches of the west coast, enjoying summer vacation as much as possible. Millions of Americans are making the most of the luxurious vacation time, wearing minimal clothing, consuming popsicles at an unhealthy rate, and having pool parties that, against the wishes of parents, do indeed have alcohol.

All of this fun across the country, and where does it leave the folks from Lima, Ohio, during a stormy day?

Still in Lima, Ohio, unfortunately.

To be more specific, a couple of them are hanging out in a local burger joint, spending their vacation time tossing French fries in each other's mouths and keeping score; winner buys the next milk shake. How exciting…

Honestly, this is the way Mike Chang and Matt Rutherford spent most of their off time, but who could blame them? There's not much to do in this town for fun, especially during a torrential downpour in the summer, and when parents don't want to spend too much money on a deluxe vacation in a popular city, that leaves teenagers with only one choice: hanging out with friends indoors.

The score was tied at two-to-two, and one more point from either competitor would win him the 'national' tournament. Already, they've blown through twenty dollars worth of fries (they weren't very good at this game…) and ten dollars in Pepsi to wash down the salt. This may put the two best friends at risk of heart disease or diabetes, but they could care less, they were just having loads of fun.

"Gah, that one went in my eye!" Matt complained, rubbing said body part **(A/N: Hehehe…Don't take that the wrong way).** Mike just laughed, but that was met with another fry flung at his face.

"Oh, it's on!" Mike challenged Matt, and so ensued the largest French fry war in Lima's history, which isn't saying much…

The intense battle only ceased when the entire stock of fries was on the floor for probably the twentieth time, and both boys were left laughing hysterically, holding their stomachs from the pain of cramps.

"We…need…lives…" Matt choked out between laughs, wiping away a tear. Mike took deep breaths before he spoke again.

"Yeah, but lives are for people with lives," he sighed.

"That makes no sense."

"Says your mom."

"That doesn't make sense, either."

"Nothing I do makes sense, Matt. But then again, neither does anything you do."

"Touché…"

"Do you even know what that word means?"

"Shut up."

Mike sighed again. "We're only a week into summer vacation and we've done absolutely nothing interesting."

"Yeah, life has been pretty boring ever since Glee club ended…who know we were going to be so attached to it like this?"

"I'd give anything to suddenly break into song and dance right here, right now."

"Yeah, I don't think so."

"Just an idea…" Mike put his elbow on the booth's table and his head in his hand, looking out the window. "You know…" he said, lost in thought, "…I've always liked storms, especially when it's like this: no thunder, no lightning, just rain, rain, and more rain…I think it's one of the most romantic things, like, ever…"

Matt stared at Mike before saying, "That was the most beautiful yet least masculine thing I have ever heard you say."

"Shut up, I have my moments," Mike defended. Matt smiled at his best friend, who smiled in response.

Their moment was interrupted by the jingling of the bell on the entrance door and the appearance of some familiar faces. A laughing Mercedes strode into the store, an equally as joyful Kurt in tow, putting away an umbrella. They were quickly followed by Artie, who was then revealed as being pushed by Tina. The group was as happy as, if not happier than Mike and Matt.

Mercedes seemed to be in the middle of a story: "So the guy was like, 'that ain't no rhinoceros, that's my mother!'" All four of the teenagers burst into another round of laughter until Tina spotted Mike and Matt surrounded by twenty dollars worth of fries in one of the booths.

"Hey look who it…what happened here?" She said, walking up to the booth. Artie had taken his wheels into his own hands and followed his girlfriend. Mercedes and Kurt stopped at the counter to order their food.

"We had a French-fry-mouth-basketball-tournament…thing…" Matt explained as-a-matter-of-factly.

"Speaking of which, we never even finished – BLEH!" Mike was interrupted by a fry landing in his mouth. Matt jumped up.

"YES! I am victorious! You, my friend, have just been owned!"

Mike chewed and swallowed. "Where did you get that fry?"

"The floor."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"You guys need serious medical attention," Kurt stated as he walked up to the table and set a tray of food down. Mercedes followed him with four drinks in hand.

"See, I told you guys I'd buy you lunch," Mercedes said as Tina, Artie, and Kurt grabbed their respective drinks.

"Well, look at you, all Oprah and stuff. Where'd you get all this money?" Matt questioned.

"My dad likes to spoil me sometimes," Mercedes smiled, "and Tina here was all nervous about sending in her audition tape for some upcoming musical movie, so I thought I'd hook her up with lunch to calm her down. Kurt and Artie happened to be there when I offered."

At this, Kurt and Artie smiled slyly.

"So if they liked my audition tape, they'll be calling my cell today…" Tina took a bite of her fries. "I can't think straight, I'm so nervous." Tina stated, but despite her words, she had true confidence in her voice and was stutter-free. This confidence was one of the many side-effects Glee club had on its members.

"Girl, you best calm yourself, I'm buying you lunch for a reason, you know!" Mercedes reassured her friend. The rest of the group laughed.

"You're right, you're right…I have nothing to worry about. And besides, even if I don't make it, it's not the end of the world…in fact, I could care less about that phone call!" Tina's lie was immediately followed by her Barbie Girl ringtone, causing her to jump, scream, and grab the phone out of her pocket so quickly that it flew straight into an astonished Mike's hands.

"Answer it!" Artie yelled.

"Yes! Wait, no! I'm not ready!" Tina screamed.

"Yes you are! Do it!" Mercedes shrieked.

"It's now or never, Tina!" Kurt added.

"Do it!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"I can't!"

"Guys! SHUT UP!" Mike shouted. Other customers watched the events with annoyed, puzzled, or amused faces. The only sound was the Barbie Girl ringtone still rocking out. "I will take care of this." Mike pressed the answer button on Tina's phone and put it to his ear. "This is Tina's personal assistant speaking, how may I help you?"

Tina made a move to grab the phone, but Mike held up his hand.

"…uh-huh…I see…good…great…well, she will be glad to hear that. Here she is right now; I'll put you on speaker phone!" He pressed a button and held up the phone for everyone to hear.

"Hey, Tina, this is Barry Cook, director of the newest hit musical movie, and I'm calling to tell you that we loved your audition!" Tina screamed in joy and received several high-fives, then stopped to listen to the director again. "You made the callback! We'll need you to come to meet an agent for a live audition in Hollywood, California, exactly three weeks from today! We'll call you later tonight for all the details, but prepare yourself for the biggest audition of your life!"

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Tina exclaimed.

"Congratulations, and I'll be talking to you later! See you soon!" The director hung up, and soon after, Tina let out another scream, hugging Mercedes, Kurt, Mike, Matt, and kissing Artie.

"See, I knew you'd make it!" Mercedes told her friend.

"Wow…I never imagined how great I would feel at this moment…I have to call my parents!" Tina grabbed her phone and dialed the number, squealing and stepping away for just a second.

"You still owe me that milk shake, you know," Matt stated to Mike.

"I'd buy it for you, but I blew all my money on the fries, so you're out of luck, buddy," Mike snickered. This made Matt grab another fry and throw it at his friend, but Mike quickly dodged it this time.

"You two are such teenage boys," Kurt shook his head.

"Kurt…" Artie said, "You are, too…"

"Details: who needs them?" Kurt replied.

"Mom, you don't understand, this is a once in a lifetime chance!" Tina's conversation was suddenly brought to the group's attention. "Can't we scrape together the money or something? I really need to take this opportunity!...Yes, I know we're in a recession…no, I don't want to live in a box…no, I don't know that homeless guy you pass every time you go to the store…fine, we'll talk about it later, then." Tina hung up reluctantly, her previous excited attitude completely wiped from her face. She walked back to the table and sighed.

"So I'm guessing your parents won't pay for the travel costs?" Matt asked.

"Yeah…but it'll be okay, right?" Tina tried her best to smile. "Like I said, life won't end if this doesn't happen. Hey, Mercedes? Can you take me home now, please?"

Mercedes opened her mouth, ready to give her words of encouragement, but she didn't have any left. "Sure, no problem," she said as sympathetically as possible. Kurt and Artie understood, and they took their bags containing their lunch as the group left, saying goodbye to Mike and Matt.

Matt sighed and looked at Mike, but was shocked to see his face in a devious smirk. "Why am I afraid to know what you're thinking?"

"Because you're afraid that my brilliant idea will make you look dumb?"

"Like that's possible…okay, just spill it, what's on your mind?"

"So we're bored, right?"

"Right…"

"And we miss Glee, right?"

"Right…"

"And Tina needs to get to Hollywood, right?"

"You don't think–"

"Two words! Road trip!"

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**What'd you think? If you have even the slightest interest in this story at all, please review! It would make me a very happy camper (if anyone even says that anymore...). Like I said before, I am posting the first three chapters all at the same time, so you can choose to review on this chapter or on the other two, it doesn't matter with me as long as you review! Also, feel free to ask any questions in your reviews and I will do whatever it takes to respond to those questions in Chapter Four! So...see ya!**


	2. The Plan

**So here's Chapter Two...not much to say since I'm posting the first three chapters at the same time...enjoy!**

**_Disclaimer: I own nothing, Glee and its characters belong to the brilliant creators of the T.V. show._**

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_**Chapter Two - The Plan**_

The rest of their time at that little fast food restaurant, the two guys made plans to get the whole Glee club to take Tina to Hollywood.

Step one: convince all twelve members to join them.

Step two: get two cars in which they can ride.

Step three: have everyone pitch in enough money for gas and food.

Step four (and the most difficult step): receive permission from everyone's parents.

So for the remainder of their day, the two best friends kept very busy. They started with calling Finn and filling him in with their plans. At first, he was afraid this idea would not fly well by Rachel, but when she found it, she was more than ecstatic to tag along. ("My dads are practically begging me to do something interesting this summer," she had said. In less than ten minutes of learning the plan, she had already convinced her dads, Finn's mom, and Kurt's dad to let their kids go on this vacation, to Mike and Matt's amazement.)

Then they called Mercedes, told her the plan, and made her keep quiet to Tina so that they could surprise her. Mercedes informed Artie, then their parents. While Mercedes' dad was excited that she was going to hang out with her friends, Artie's parents were overprotective. It ended up taking Matt, Mike, and Finn's assurance that they would look out for Artie, telling them that Glee club was like a family. Finn ended up getting all emotional and started telling stories of their past year in Glee. He went through two of Artie's parents' tissue boxes, but in the end he convinced them to allow Artie to do this. They even said they would throw in two hundred dollars to help with gas money (Artie's parents spoil him, too).

Quinn's mother, in an effort to restore their relationship to its former glory, easily agreed, and even offered a generous monetary donation for the trip as well.

Both Santana and Brittany's parents weren't so easily persuaded. Santana had to tell her parents that it was just Glee girls going on this trip and nothing naughty was going to happen, and Brittany's folks weren't letting her go until they received Santana's parents' reassurance.

When they told Puck about their plan, they weren't sure he even got permission, but just decided to tag along. That left only three people: Mike, Matt, and of course Tina, whom they were saving for last as a surprise.

Matt's mother was easily convinced, and even agreed to let them use her car, a minivan, which was way bigger than Matt's truck that only sits two people.

Finally, it was time to ask Mike's parents. Matt parked his truck in Mike's driveway and proceeded to get out, but Mike stopped him.

"You know how my parents can be; I think I might just go ask alone, okay?"

Matt was a little shocked, but he agreed. Mike got out of the car and went into the house, but a few minutes later, he came back outside.

"So…?" Matt started when Mike had gotten back to the truck.

"They weren't home. They probably went shopping or something. Listen, why don't we come back after we tell Tina and her parents, I'm sure my folks won't be too stubborn about this one anyway."

"Um…okay, no prob, let's go get the Glee club together and tell Tina."

"Cool."

* * *

It was eight at night, and Mercedes and Artie had agreed to take Tina out for a drive whilst the remaining nine Glee clubbers spoke with Tina's parents.

To the luck of the Gleeks, the conversation went very well. They understood, and only wanted the best for their daughter. They understood how this was a great opportunity for her, and were very glad that the Glee club was going so far to make her happy. Once again, Finn was emotionally pouring out all kinds of cheesy stories about Glee club and ranting on about how the Glee club was like family.

To the relief of all the Glee members, an unsuspecting Tina, along with Mercedes and Artie, returned home before Finn could get too carried away…again.

"Oh my God…" Tina started, "Why is everyone here…did Mr. Schuester die? I knew all that drama during the school year was going to make him go crazy…so how did it end for him? Ex-wife killed him? Suicide?"

"What? No!" Rachel exclaimed. "Well…it's true that we haven't heard from him in a week…oh God, what if he did die? Surely we couldn't find another Glee director like him! "

Mercedes butted in: "What Rachel is trying, and epically failing, to say, is that we all know you want to go to Hollywood for that live audition, so Matt and Mike came up with a great idea…we're all going to go on a road trip to California!"

"Like they say in American Idol," Artie said, "'you're going to Hollywood!' But don't expect any golden ticket."

"No way! You guys are joking, right?"

It took a while to get Tina to realize that their plan was no joke. They planned to leave in exactly two days, and so after the meeting, the Gleeks went home to pack.

Matt drove Mike home that night.

"Hey, dude, text me when you talk to your parents about all this, okay?"

"Yeah, of course. I'll see you tomorrow, then."

Mike hopped out of the truck, waved to his friend, and went inside.

Later that night, Mike did indeed text Matt, telling him his parents were cool with it.

* * *

With help from the Gleeks with jobs, the parents, and even Mr. Schue (Rachel and Tina were relieved to find out he was alive), they had somehow scraped together enough money for food, gas for two vehicles, and hotel for the trip to and from Hollywood. They agreed to use Mercedes' car as the second vehicle, seeing as it was big enough to fit half of the club, including Artie's wheelchair. They didn't believe they were actually going through with this, but it was happening.

The next day past quickly, and before they knew it, it was the morning of the departure. Matt agreed to pick up Mike first, and he arrived at seven in the morning in his mom's minivan. Mike came outside just in time which his suitcase in hand and tossed it in the trunk before hopping in the front seat.

"Okay, let's roll." He said calmly.

Matt looked over suspiciously, noticing something was wrong. "You okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Matt raised an eyebrow. "Just checking." He turned his head to look outside the window, which was drenched from the rain. "I'm glad to be getting out of this town. It's been raining for three days straight, what kind of summer is this?"

Mike laughed. "Calm down, it'll all be over soon. I doubt it's raining in California."

"True that," Matt agreed. "Okay, so Mercedes is taking Kurt, Tina, Artie, Finn, and Rachel in her car, so that leaves us with Puck, Quinn, Brittany, and Santana. But we agreed on switching every time we stop for gas."

"Sounds good to me," Mike said. "So let's go pick up our crew, shall we?"

Matt nodded, but then looked back at his friend. "Mike, you know you can tell me anything, right?"

"Matt, seriously, just drop it. I'd tell you what's going on if there actually _was_ anything going on, okay?"

"I'm just saying, whenever you need to talk," he pointed to himself, "I'm right here."

"First you're driving a minivan, now you want me to come to you for advice? You're sounding more and more like a soccer mom every day!"

Matt playfully punched Mike. "Whatever, let's just go."

Throughout the next two hours, Matt and Mike picked up Brittany, Santana, and Puck, but had to drive back to Brittany's house because she forgot her toothbrush, then they picked up Quinn, but had to drive back to Brittany's again because she forgot toothpaste for her toothbrush, and then they met up with Mercedes at Tina's house, but had to drive back to Brittany's because she thought she forgot her cell phone, so they spent half an hour looking for it, but then they found it in her pocket, so they drove back to Tina's, but the other group had gone back to Kurt's because he forgot one of his many suitcases, so they drove to Kurt's and found everyone eating pancakes with sausage in the kitchen, courtesy of Mr. Hummel.

After a great deal of complaining, nagging, and yelling, everyone was finally back in their respective vehicles and driving down the interstate toward their first destination: Indiana.

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**So how was that one? Don't forget to review! Please? :-)**


	3. Anything but Bieber Fever

**This is Chapter Three...like I said last chapter, I'm posting the first three all at the same time, so...read and review...Not much else to say...haha**

**_Disclaimer: If I owned Glee, then Brittany, Mike, and Matt would have already gotten a solo song...but they haven't, so...I don't own Glee..._**

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_**Chapter Three - Anything but Bieber Fever**_

They had been driving for just two hours and Matt was already contemplating murder, and Mike wasn't much different.

Santana had agreed to sit next to Puck so things wouldn't be awkward if Quinn took that spot (they still weren't on the best of terms since the baby was born), so Quinn and Brittany were in the middle row and Santana and Puck sat way in the back. At that point, Puck and Santana had done nothing but argue about various topics, and Brittany was reading every single billboard and street sign out loud in sheer boredom. A very annoyed Quinn yelled at them to keep it down so she could sleep; consequently, she spent more time yelling than sleeping.

"Mike, I'm going to be completely honest with you."

"What about, Matt?"

"I'm considering swerving off of the side of the road to kill us all and end this nightmare."

"I wouldn't blame you."

"HeadOn! Apply directly to the forehead!"

"Brittany, for the last time, please stop reading the billboards!"

"Sorry, Quinn…"

"Yo Santana, if we start making out right now, nobody up front will know."

"Hey Puck, here's a new invention for you, the rearview mirror. I can see all."

"Puck, you are such a pig!"

"Think outside the bun!"

"Brittany, shut it!"

"You shut it, Santana!"

"Puck, don't be messing with me, I will take you down!"

"Nobody will be taking anybody down!"

"Can't we all just get along?"

"Maybe if you turn up the radio!"

"Fine…there!"

"Eek! I love this song! _'P-p-p-poker face! P-p-poker face!'_" Brittany started poking Quinn's face.

"Quit singing along Brittany, you're ruining it!"

"No, she's doing the song a HUGE favor by singing it!"

"Don't be dissing this song, Puck!"

"Actually, Santana, the pig's got a point. Britt, QUIT POKING ME!"

"Thank you, Quinn. Hey…"

"Oh my God, what the hell is wrong with all of you! Do I have to turn this vehicle around!"

"Matt, don't bother, they're just children. They won't be stopping any time soon." Mike groaned, then began to imagine what Mercedes and her crew were up to.

He visualized Mercedes driving happily and Kurt in the passenger seat sipping tea like he's British or something. Finn and Rachel were probably snuggling quietly in the very back of the car, and Tina and Artie were likely playing some card game and sneaking in a cheesy 'I love you' every other turn. What Mike wouldn't give to be in the other car right now…

"Mike, change the damn station already, this song is getting old!" Mike obeyed Santana's harsh commands and pressed the number for the other set station, where Carrie Underwood's _Before He Cheats_ was playing.

Quinn jumped up in excitement. "I love this song!"

"I don't," Santana stated coldly, climbing to the front to change it to another station.

_Baby, baby, baby, ooooooh_

"NO!" everyone shouted in unison. Santana and Mike immediately reached to change the station, but they both hit the stereo at the same time with too much force, causing it to go silent for a second, and then return to the dreaded song. Mike hurriedly pressed the button to change it, but nothing happened.

"It won't work!" he screamed.

"Then just turn it down!"

"That won't work either!"

"You broke the radio!"

"Oh God, the horror!"

"Hurry up and get rid of it!"

"We're all going to die!"

"Like a good neighbor, StateFarm is there!"

"BRITTANY!"

"Sorry!"

"That's it!" Matt yelled, ripping the stereo out of its place in the center of the car, rolling down the window, and tossing it out onto the storm-soaked road. "Okay, the nightmare is finally over…" Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, in the car behind them, Mercedes and Kurt were busy watching the minivan ahead of them swerve left and right until finally a black object flew out the window. "What in the name of Jesus is going on up there?" Mercedes wondered.

"I don't know, but it seems entertaining…" Kurt admitted, sipping from his cup of tea.

* * *

It was almost noon, and the Gleeks were almost out of Ohio and into Indiana. Ever since the Justin Bieber incident, Matt's car was completely silent. Brittany and Quinn were listening to their iPod, and Puck had fallen asleep on Santana's shoulder. Santana, however, was also asleep and didn't notice. The only sound heard in the car was now the splattering of rain drops on the windshield and the occasional swipe of the windshield wiper.

"This is nice…" Matt said. "Silence at last…"

"But without the radio, the rest of this trip is going to be boring as hell," Mike pointed out.

"Don't blame me, blame Justin Bieber."

"Don't mind if I do."

Matt chuckled.

The car was completely silent again for a moment, but it wasn't as peaceful as before. Matt had been noticing that something was up with Mike ever since when they first left. Being his best friend for ten years, Matt was the only one who could tell his smiles were a charade. He figured it was something Mike wouldn't want to talk about, so he decided a different approach: take his mind off of it.

_Okay, Matt, think of anything, _he thought, _anything that's interesting. Let's see…what have they been talking about in the news? Think…Think…_

"So what are your thoughts on gay marriage?" Matt blurted out.

"What?"

_Oh, __**real**__ nice, Matt. Where the hell did that come from?_

"It's cool…I guess…doesn't bother me…" Mike was confused.

"That's nice…"

Idle conversation never was Matt's forte…

"Um…you know, this was a really great idea," Matt admitted, awkwardly changing the subject.

"This road trip?"

"Yeah. We're going to have loads of fun and be with the rest of the Glee club. Mr. Schue would probably consider this excellent bonding time. He'd tell us how this could really help our performances and stuff, something about us being united, or something cheesy like that." Mike laughed, and that time Matt could tell that laugh was genuine. His plan seemed to be working.

So for the next hour, the two just talked. They first talked about hysterical moments in Glee that past year, like the Vitamin D fiasco, and how they didn't recognize Puck when he shaved his head, and even the Kiss and Lady Gaga performances. Then somehow that conversation changed to songs they wanted to perform next year in Glee club. Suggestions ranged from Avril Lavigne to Disney Movies to Maroon 5. They even talked about all the love drama in Glee club and how it would affect them all in the future. They ended up predicting where all the Gleeks would be ten years from that moment: Rachel and Finn would be married with exactly six equally-talented children and would be a well-known family on Broadway, Kurt would be a multi-billionaire with four mansions scattered across the country, Mercedes would be the most famous pop/hip-hop singer on the radio, Brittany and Santana would randomly become a lesbian couple and adopt a child from a country of which nobody has ever heard, Puck would be a drug dealer, Quinn would be a radio host, and Tina would be a movie star who would be iconic for her background in a small town and her marriage to her paraplegic high school sweetheart.

"So, where do you think I would be ten years from now?" Matt asked.

"Hmm…I could see you being a professional football player in the NFL," Mike answered.

"Sweet, that's exactly what I'm hoping for!" Matt laughed.

"Where would I be?"

"Well…in your future…I see you winning America's Got Talent, American Idol, and So You Think You Can Dance, thus becoming the most famous entertainer to have ever walked the face of the Earth."

Mike smiled. "Let's not get too carried away now, I doubt that's going to happen."

"Anything is possible."

"Not anything…" Mike sighed.

"But there is one drawback about all these fantasies and what-not…"

"What's that?"

Matt paused and frowned. "…It means we would have to move on. The whole club wouldn't be all together anymore. I'm having the time of my life, and I don't really want this to end, you know?"

"Me neither, but…who says we have to move on? Maybe we'll all still be tight like we are now, and we'll all move into an apartment together like that one show where everyone hooks up and does naughty things but still consider themselves just friends. I like that show, it's funny. But even if we don't, we still have to make the best out of now." Mike looked out the window and up into the silhouette of the sun through the ubiquitous clouds. "Wow, rain really does bring out my emotional side…"

"It's okay; I think I like that side of you…"

Before the meaning of that could register in Mike's mind, the worst possible scenario came true: Santana woke up and realized her position.

"OH MY GOD, PUCK! GET THE HELL OFF OF ME!" she shouted.

"Santana! Unnecessary!" Quinn scolded, pulling the earphones out of her ear. Puck yawned and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Wha…what happened?"

"Puck, I swear, sometimes you're slower than Britt." Brittany still had her earphones in and was rocking out, so Santana's comment flew right by her.

And so commenced yet another round of arguments.

* * *

At long last, the time came to get gas and eat lunch, therefore mixing up the seating arrangement.

Matt let Mike drive while he sits up front and relaxes. In the middle row of the minivan, Kurt and Brittany had somehow ended up next to each other. In the very back, Finn and Rachel were being that cliché lovey-dovey couple that everyone is annoyed at but is secretly jealous.

"Well…this should make things quieter…" Matt said, sitting back in the seat. Mercedes and her crew took the lead this time and drove onto the interstate, the minivan in tow.

"I love you!"

"I love you more!"

"No, I love you more!"

Childish giggling could be heard in the back of the car.

"You have _got _to be kidding me!" Kurt complained. "They did this in the other car, too!"

Finn and Rachel just ignored him continued snuggling, sipping at the slushie they had bought to share at the gas station, and playfully arguing about how much they cared about each other, even though everyone else knew the answer was simply _too much_.

Mike started banging his head on the steering wheel. "I…hate…my…life…" he grumbled between bangs.

"You're cute when you drink slushies…"

"You're cuter!"

"No, you are!"

"No, you-" Suddenly, Mike swerved the car to the left and back, catching the couple off guard and causing the slushie to spill all over both Finn and Rachel.

"MIKE!" the two called in frustration. Matt and Kurt were cracking up with laughter.

"Sorry! Uh…I saw a squirrel!" he protested.

"Where!" Brittany questioned in excitement. She then proceeded to look out the window hopefully.

"That was REAL mature, Mike!" Finn complained, wiping the frosty slush off of his shirt.

"You guys will NOT see the end of this!" Rachel threatened. "I would angrily storm out, but I'm above the idea of leaping out of a moving vehicle!"

"I don't see the squirrel! It must have returned to its home planet!" Brittany proclaimed.

"Britt, it's a squirrel, not E.T.!" Kurt explained.

"Who?"

"Never mind…"

"Rachel, where'd you get that towel?" Matt wondered.

"I _never_ travel unprepared," she answered, wiping the beverage off of both her and Finn.

"Mike, I have to pee!" Brittany whined.

"Why didn't you go when we were at the gas station?"

"I didn't have to go then!"

"You can't hold it?" Mike's question was answered as Brittany began to hop up and down impatiently.

"Britt, whatever you do, don't think about water!" Matt said.

"Why would I think about water?" she asked.

"Don't you have to go to the bathroom?"

"Not anymore."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"This is going to be a _very_ long road trip…" Kurt complained.

* * *

**Okay, so what did you think about THAT one?**

**For a limited offer only! - Review and receive the author's best wishes for a happy, long life! Who doesn't want one of those? :-)**


	4. Tensions

**Hey there, I'm _so _glad you guys liked the story so far.**

**Fun fact #1: when I was originally planning this story, I wanted it to be completely on the serious side, but as I started writing, I realized that couldn't happen. That said, there will be a good deal of serious moments throughout the story. I plan on the plot getting pretty intense, but I hope to make it just as funny for you as the past three. Was it really pretty hilarious? I wasn't trying _too _hard with that...hopefully I can keep it up. **

**So, this chapter shows that the entire story will not take place in the car. In fact, most of the story won't be in the car. As the main plotlines start kicking in, there will be a lot of time spent outside the vehicle. **

**Fun fact #2: while writing this chapter, I nearly choked on scrambled eggs. Haha...**

**Well, read and review, enjoy the story!**

**_Disclaimer: If I owned Glee, I would've fulfilled all my needs in life and would have dropped out of school. Unfortunately, I remain in school, and my needs are unfulfilled..._**

**

* * *

**

_Watch as the male tiger circles the tigress in a seemingly threatening manner. She roars invitingly, and he responds by mounting his mate. He then proceeds to –_

"Okay! That's enough Animal Planet for tonight, Britt. Let's find something else to do!" Quinn suggested.

"Aww, but it was just getting interesting! See, now the big cats are playing leap frog!"

Quinn quickly grabbed the remote from Brittany and turned off the hotel's television.

"Phew!" she said with relief. "Well…now that that's done with…Indianapolis isn't half bad, this motel room is pretty nice!" Quinn looked around the two-bed one-bath room, and then at her fellow female Glee clubbers, dressed in their pajamas. Santana was braiding Tina's hair (a sight that, a month ago, nobody would have believed), Mercedes and Rachel were gossiping silently about something, and Brittany's attention had been suddenly stolen by the bible she found in the dresser.

"Hey San, check out this Jesus dude, he sounds pretty cool! He can talk to that man in the sky!"

"Britt, I'm going to say this because I care about you…you need help," Santana said straightforwardly, then completed the braid in Tina's hair. "There! That was fun! Don't even think about taking it out and making me do it again or I'll drop-kick you back to China." Tina laughed, knowing the racist comment was simply a joke.

"Guys, shouldn't we be getting to bed?" Quinn proposed, "I wanted to take off early tomorrow!"

"Quinn, relax!" Mercedes assured the former Cheerio captain, "We have more than two weeks to get Tina to her audition, and according to this MapQuest thing, it would only take a day and a half to get there! This is vacation time, so enjoy it!"

"Fine, fine, whatever you say. So…who's up for a game of truth or dare?"

Quinn wondered if the boys in the other motel room were going to have this much fun…

* * *

"Oh hot _damn_! Those tigers are totally getting it _on_! Check it out, Finn! That was me and your mom last night, oh!"

"Puck, grow up!" Finn scolded.

"Whatever. Gah, I hate Quinn's stupid rule of separating the boys and girls. What did she think was going to happen?"

"Hmm, I don't know, Noah," Kurt said with sarcasm as he performed his nightly face-moisturizing routine in front of the sink, "God forbid you get someone pregnant!"

"Hey, shut it, Hummel!"

"I'm just being honest. And besides, I'm not too happy with this rule, either."

"Guys, quit complaining, I'm trying to watch Animal Planet!" Finn said, sitting in a crisscross applesauce position on the king-size bed and watching the show. "Aww, look at the baby tiger cub!"

"Finn, I no longer think of you as a man," Puck stated. "Damn, it's boring in here…I wonder what the chicks are up to…"

* * *

"Okay, Rachel, truth or dare?" Mercedes asked eagerly.

"Dare!" She answered, "Wait, no! Truth! Wait…yeah, truth!"

"Okay…" Tina started, "so, let me think...I got one! Have you and Finn ever…you know…?"

"Uh…no, I don't think I know…"

"You know, done it!"

"Done what?"

Santana butted it, "She's asking if you and Finn ever had sex, smart one."

Quinn raised an eyebrow.

"Oh! That!" Rachel laughed innocently.

"So? What's your answer?" Mercedes asked.

"Well…hehe…"

"You can't be serious!" Quinn glared at Rachel and stood up. Everyone's expression immediately changed as they looked toward Quinn. "Do you even _realize_ the consequences of something like this? You could get pregnant! You _don't _want to go through what I did!"

"…So what if I get pregnant?" Rachel climbed to her feet to defend herself. "At least it's actually _with_ the person I'm dating!"

"He got me drunk, it _wasn't_ my fault!"

"But then you went and lied about it to Finn! Do you know what you put _him_ through!"

"And how would _he_ even know if you weren't lying! You aren't exactly innocent! You've dated like every guy in Glee club! How do we know you didn't sleep with one of them!"

"It hasn't been every guy, and I don't sleep around, like you! I'm not a slut, like you!"

"Take that back! For the last time, he got me _drunk_!"

"Like we're going to believe that!"

Then, Quinn slapped Rachel, but before Rachel could attack her in return, Tina and Mercedes held her back.

"Rachel, stop!" Tina pleaded, trying to contain a struggling Rachel. "This is supposed to be a vacation, don't ruin it with a fight! It's not worth it!" Rachel quit trying to break free of their grip and just gave Quinn her iciest possible look.

"I'm done with this." Quinn started for the door, but Santana made a move to follow her. "Don't!" She held up her hand. "Just leave me alone." She stepped outside into the rainy night and slammed the door behind her.

Santana turned to Rachel. "What the hell is wrong with you!"

"Me! She's the one who started arguing with me!"

"And she had a good reason! You know what? I don't even want to deal with this right now. I'm going to bed." Santana crawled on one of the two beds. "Make yourself comfortable on the floor!"

"Oh, don't expect _me_ to sleep on the floor!" Rachel jumped onto the other bed and pulled the covers over her head.

Mercedes and Tina stood awkwardly in the middle of the room.

"Can we at least have some pillows?" Mercedes asked, a question which was met with four pillows from both beds to her face. "Um…thanks…?"

"So…what do we do now?" Tina asked.

"Hey, did you guys know this Jesus person can walk on water? Sweet!" Brittany still had her nose buried in the bible.

"…I'm going to bed. Don't wake me up too early." Mercedes found a spot on the floor, dropped a couple of the pillows there, and laid down. Tina found her own section of carpet and followed suit.

* * *

Matt stepped outside the motel room and toward the parking lot. His steps were rapid in an effort to get out of the rain quickly. He opened the driver-side door, and reached in to get his phone which he had forgotten early, but he nearly screamed when he saw a certain blonde teenager in tears sitting in the passenger seat.

"Holy...Quinn? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, haha, hey Matt. You should really learn to lock your doors."

"Yeah, I should…are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's just been a rough night…"

Matt crawled into the car and shut the door behind him. "I'm here if you want to talk."

"Actually, that would make me feel better…" Quinn admitted. She explained what had happened between her and Rachel, and how Rachel had slept with Finn.

"And you actually slapped her!" Matt's jaw dropped. "Well, I don't really blame you…but what got you so emotional about it in the first place?"

Quinn shook her head and sighed. "All this drama with the baby and stuff really changed me. It brought me closer to the entire Glee club, even Rachel. Rachel's the one who convinced me to love the Glee club, because nobody else would. So, I really didn't want anyone to make the same mistake as me. It made my life hell for a decent amount of time…so when I found out about Finn and Rachel, I was really worried that she might have to go through the same thing. I highly doubt she's pregnant, but it could happen to anyone, you know? I guess I'm just being overprotective or something. But now I'm sure Rachel hates me, and Tina and Mercedes might not be too cool with me, either…"

"I doubt that! Rachel will realize sooner or later that you did what you did because you care. And I'm sure you and Mercedes are close enough of friends for her to understand, too. I'm not sure about Tina, though…but listen; you meant well. They will understand."

"You think so?"

Matt nodded his head. "I know so!"

"…Thanks, Matt. You really know how to cheer a person up! But I do have one question: why are _you_ here?"

"I forgot my phone in the car. That, and Puck and Finn are being really weird and annoying. Puck won't stop telling us how bored he is, and I think Finn is becoming an animal rights activist…"

"Wow, that's…just wow…"

Quinn and Matt laughed. Suddenly, the splattering of rain on the window died down until it disappeared completely for the first time in days.

"Now that was cool," Quinn said.

"You bet," Matt agreed. They looked out the window and up into the sky to see all the gloomy clouds had vanished, unveiling thousands upon thousands of shimmering stars accompanied by a luminous crescent moon. Matt couldn't help but think that this night would be amazingly romantic...if he were with that one special person…

A few moments passed before Matt broke the peaceful silence: "Well, I should probably get back. The guys are probably wondering why I've been gone so long…if they've even noticed."

"Yeah, I'll do the same. Hey, thanks for listening to my problems. It really helped."

"Of course, no problem."

The two got out of the vehicle (this time, Matt locked the doors), said goodnight, and headed back to their respective rooms to go to bed.

* * *

The next morning went smoother than the previous night. With the rain having stopped the night before, the sky was a stunning azure.

Rachel had ignored Quinn when she returned to the room last night, and Santana was busy ignoring Rachel, Mercedes, and Tina. Like predicted, Quinn and Mercedes were still close friends, whereas she and Tina were still indifferent. Brittany was as clueless as ever, but loving her new bible.

The morning was eventless but full of tension. The six girls woke up around nine o'clock and got ready with little conversation. The boys did the same and the dozen teens left by ten.

Quinn persuaded Mike to sit in the other car so she and Matt could expand on their newfound friendship. This time, Matt and Quinn, Finn and Santana, and Puck and Artie were in the minivan while Mercedes and Rachel, Tina and Brittany, and Mike and Kurt were in the other car. After stopping at Denny's for breakfast, they were back on the road and headed toward Illinois.

In Mercedes' car, Rachel was going off about how wrong Quinn was to slap her, Brittany was reading out loud the bible she had stolen from the hotel (ironic, right?), and Kurt and Mike sat in the back in silence, probably because the two never really talked before.

* * *

An hour passed in the car, Rachel was still putting in her two cents about what happened, Brittany was still reading the bible to a now sleeping Tina, and Kurt and Mike still sat in silence.

Mike's mind wandered, thinking about how annoying both Rachel and Brittany were, how his best friend was doing in the other car, why exactly Quinn wanted to sit next to Matt, and why he felt jealous he wasn't in Quinn's spot right now. Then, a question suddenly popped into his mind that he just had to get out.

"Hey, Kurt, how did you first know you were gay?"

Kurt, taken aback by this question, looked at Mike with confusion. Mike looked back with inquiring eyes, leading Kurt to realize he wasn't joking. Kurt hesitated a bit before answering: "Well…I sort of always knew…"

"Like, how? From when you were born?"

"Not really…it was when I first started caring about relationships…when I was old enough to be attracted to certain people. In fact, my first huge crush was on…" Kurt looked to the front to make sure the others weren't listening, but they were too busy being either annoying or annoyed to pay any attention. "…it was on Finn."

"Really? I wouldn't have guessed…but I'm slow like that, so…yeah…"

Kurt chuckled. "So, why did you need to know?"

"Uh…no reason…" Mike looked away awkwardly. Kurt smirked.

"You like him, don't you?"

"What? Him? Who? Why? No!" Mike spit out all his questions almost at once.

"You like Matt, don't you?" Kurt whispered cautiously. This time, Mike didn't answer, but his face flushed red. "So…what are you going to do about it?"

"I…I don't know…I'm just…confused."

"Don't worry; the confusion phase will pass in time. And don't think that you're going through this alone. You have all of us. I understand, and I'm sure the rest of the Glee club will, too."

"Thanks, Kurt…but…I think I'm going to keep this on the down-low for now…I still want to figure this all out."

"That's perfectly fine. Let me know when you're ready."

"Will do."

* * *

In Matt's car, the only two people talking were Matt and Quinn. Everyone else just didn't care about bonding.

"So Coach Sylvester got _really_ pissed and banned sandwiches with tomatoes from Cheerio practice forever!" Quinn finished telling a story, and Matt cracked up with laughter.

"So…" Matt started, wiping away a tear and trying to contain his laughter. "…are you going to be a Cheerio next year?" Quinn's face fell from sheer amusement to a gaze of supposition.

"Honestly…I haven't thought about it much…I doubt Couch Sylvester will want me on the team after kicking me off from…you know…" Matt nodded his head understandingly. "So I guess…my time will be devoted to Glee club next year."

"Glee club's pretty cool, though, so I think you'll be all right."

"Yeah, I hope…" Quinn looked out the window. They were somewhere in Illinois, and on either side of the baron road were towering trees. They had been in this forest for an hour and haven't seen any other cars. She wondered what it would be like to live here: quiet, peaceful, no one to stir up drama. She wouldn't have to worry about anything here.

"Hey, am I seeing things…?" Matt said, glancing at the gas gauge in disbelief. Quinn looked: the arrow was rested on the big 'E'.

"No…I see it, too…" Quinn said. "Puck, didn't you fill up the car with gas last time we stopped?"

"Me? Oh…was I supposed to do that?"

"Puck!" Matt yelled, "I asked you to do that! I even reminded you a second time!"

"Well, obviously that wasn't enough for me!" Puck justified.

The engine began to cough until it sputtered out completely, and the car slowed to a stop. Mercedes' car, which had been in front by only several yards, responded by slowing down and coming to a stop as well. Mercedes hopped out to see what the problem was. Matt and Quinn stepped out to explain.

"Puck's an idiot," Matt started.

"Hey, you're the one who trusted me with something that important!" Puck defended as he stepped out of the vehicle.

"He forgot to fill up the minivan with gas!" Quinn explained.

"So now what? Are we seriously stranded in the middle of a forest?" Santana complained, having joined the party out on the street as well.

"On the contrary," Mercedes said, "only Matt's car is stranded in the middle of a forest. My car was filled up by the one-and-only trustworthy Mike, so we can actually keep driving." By now, the entire Glee club had joined the scene to check out what was going on.

"I don't mean to brag but…I'm pretty badass like that," Mike gloated.

Tina pulled out the MapQuest papers. "According to this, we're only twenty miles from the next city. Maybe we could find a tow truck or something."

"Yeah, Tina's got a point. How about I drive down to the next city, find someone, and come back for you guys?"

"You're just going to leave us here!" Santana protested.

"Well, I can't fit all of you into my car, you know! It only sits six people max!"

Santana crossed her arms and scowled. Mercedes turned to Mike.

"Do you mind switching seats with Santana so she won't be a drama queen?"

Mike looked over at Kurt, who nodded subtly and understandingly and smiled.

"Yeah, no problem," Mike answered.

"Thanks. Now, if y'all will excuse us, I'm going to take off now, unless you want to stay here until night." Mercedes and her group, including Santana, headed back to her car after Tina and Artie, and Rachel and Finn, bid a rather histrionic farewell.

"I don't know about you, but I'm getting back in the car before some wild animal attacks me," Puck said, returning to the immobile automobile.

"Aww, is the great Noah Puckerman really afraid of some fuzzy little creatures?" Finn teased, but he followed him anyway, as did the other guys and Quinn.

"For some reason, I don't expect them to come back anytime soon…" Quinn said…

"You have to trust them," Matt said, "We're depending on them now. They'll be fine."

"Yeah, I guess you're right…"

* * *

**Not as much humor in this chapter, and I'm not so confident about that aspect in the next chapter, either. Chapter six is looking to be pretty funny, though, and on top of that, it will be the first major plot...event...thing...**

**Fun fact #3: I have recently fallen in love with the pairing Brittany/Santana, and while I may not make it totally obvious, I want to strongly hint at it in the future, but I want to know what you guys think. So please please please, in your reviews, tell me what you thought about the chapter, and also tell me your favorite pairings for all the characters, other than ones involving Mike and Matt, because as you've probably noticed, that pairing is set. Of course, not everyone has to be paired with someone, and in the end, that might just be how it plays out. But leave your thoughts in reviews, please!**

**Reviews give me inspiration to write, so if you review, the chances for me to update in less than a week will increase by anywhere between 26% and 68%. Well...I'm not sure about the math on that one...whatever, review!**

**One more thing! In the first chapter, I showed that Tina landed an audition for an "upcoming musical movie." If one of you can guess what that movie is, I'll work in a cameo appearance for a character based off of the winner who guessed it. (I know, you all must be jumping up and down and clapping your hands in excitement right now...) So that's just something to think about.**

**So, what are you waiting for? Review!**

_Chapter Four - Tensions_


	5. Unbearable

**And here is Chapter 5! I will be totally honest with you, I didn't like this chapter. About half way through writing it, I got a sudden urge to start writing the next chapter, so the end of this one is pretty rushed, so this is probably my least favorite chapter yet. That said, Chapter 6 is my favorite chapter yet, and I had so much fun writing it. So, be honest when you tell me what you thought about this chapter, because I know it isn't my best.**

**I _really _wanted to post this chapter on Wednesday, but I hadn't finished Chapter 6 yet. Marching band camp started this week, so I was really tired when I got home everyday this week. Fortunately, I have a weekend off to write, so I'm hoping and praying for an update by Monday.**

**As for the movie for which Tina is auditioning, nobody is right just yet, but I will tell you that there was one very close guess. Again, a huge hint is in the first chapter, and if you do your research, you should get it.**

**Okay, read and review!**

**_Disclaimer: I'm sure you all get the picture by now: I own nothing..._**

* * *

_**Chapter Five - Unbearable.**_

_**Welcome to Creepcreek, Illinois! Population: 89 **_

Brittany read the sign that they were passing aloud, chuckling as she said 'Creepcreek.'

"Wow, I'm surprised this place was even on the map. It's more like a small gathering of people than a city!" Mercedes exclaimed as she looked around the tiny town, or rather, _for_ the tiny town. Despite the entrance sign, all that the Gleeks saw were trees, trees, and more trees. They hadn't even left the vast forest yet. "Okay guys," Mercedes said, "keep an eye out for any signs of human life…"

Brittany looked out the window. "Okay, let's see…tree…tree…rock…tree…oh, hey, gas is only $2.13 here…"

"Oh wow, what a bargain," Tina said, "I'll have to tell my parents. With this economy, I wouldn't be surprised if they drove all the way out here to get gas every time they needed it…wait, what?"

All six passengers turned to see where Brittany was looking. Sure enough, off to the right, nearly invisible from the trees, a large sign with gas prices was on the side of a small dirt path barely big enough to fit Mercedes' car.

"Wow, good eye, Brittany!" Rachel complimented.

"What?" Brittany said, spacing off.

"…Never mind."

Mercedes pulled onto the path, and could now see the bright lights from the out-of-place gas station.

"Civilization! Oh sweet Jesus, thank you!" Kurt exclaimed. There were even several cars parked in front of the gas station and by the gas pumps.

"See, I knew everything would be fine!" Mercedes said.

* * *

"I'm bored."

"Puck, I don't want to hear you complaining. You got us into this, after all," Matt scolded.

"I'm glad I didn't go in the other car. Things would have been awkward with Rachel, you know?" Quinn said to Matt.

"Yeah, slapping someone isn't usually very friendly," Matt said.

"Wait, what?" Finn called from the back seat. "You _slapped_ Rachel!"

Quinn hesitated. "…I…thought she…told you…"

"Why the hell would you do that!"

"Finn, calm down!" Mike implored.

"I want to know _why_ you slapped my girlfriend!"

"Finn, it wasn't really Quinn's fault," Matt defended her.

Finn ignored him. "Was it jealousy?"

"You're kidding me, _jealousy_! Why the hell would I be jealous of Rachel!" Quinn turned around in her seat to glare at Finn.

"Oh, I could think of a couple of reasons!"

"Finn, seriously, I'm _over_ you! And you weren't there! She called me a slut!"

"Did you ever think that maybe she had a point!"

"Finn!" both Matt and Puck yelled at the same time.

"That was uncalled for, man, this isn't like you," Puck said.

Finn glared at Quinn with icy eyes, remembering everything that had happened during the school year, how Quinn cheated on him, lied to him, and put him through hell. How could he nearly have forgotten? How can he forgive?

"Finn…" Quinn said as compassionately as possible, "You know I'm sorry about everything that happened…" She fought back the tears in her eyes.

"Sorry isn't good enough," Finn said callously. He opened the car door and ran out into the midst of the trees, sick of remembering the worst time of his life.

Puck sighed. "I'll go get him before he hurts himself."

"That's probably not a good idea…" Mike said. "And I'm sure you know why…I'll go get him."

Before Matt could protest, Mike stepped out of the car and ran to follow Finn.

Quinn burst into tears.

Artie coughed awkwardly. "Um…how did that happen?"

* * *

"Wanna know something?" Brittany asked Santana as they walked through the gas station's front doors. "It would be really cool if someone made a T.V. show about our lives."

"Why?"

"'Cause it would be cool. We could call it: _**Eel G.**_!" Brittany said the title waving her hands in the air dazzlingly and looking off into the distance brightly.

"What kind of name is that? Who would watch that show, anyway?"

"You're probably right…just a bunch of geeks or something."

"Ladies, please focus on the situation at hand," Rachel insisted as she followed the two inside, "We heartlessly deserted my boyfriend…and everyone else…somewhere in the woods where ferociously wild animals could easily get to him…I mean them…We have to return before something happens!"

"Rachel, calm yourself," said Mercedes, "We'll be back in no time." She looked around the gas station for a potential answer, but paused hesitantly.

There was someone behind the counter and several people walking around shopping, but they weren't acting like normal people. Though they were dressed ordinarily, they all stood with an erect posture and wide eyes that seemed to stare off into the distance.

"Um…excuse me?" Mercedes said cautiously. All at once, every single pair of eyes darted straight to the teenage girls standing at the door. Their faces were impassive and even seemed plastic.

"I…think I'll go wait in the car with Kurt and Tina…" Rachel said as she quickly left the gas station. Santana stepped forward confidently.

"Our friends' car broke down about twenty miles down the road. Do you guys have a tow truck or something?"

The mysterious residents just continued to stare intensely, until finally one spoke up. "You don't belong here…"

"What kind of supernatural crap is this?" Santana said, crossing her arms, "I think you people have watched _way_ too many CW dramas…"

"Leave…"

"Ugh, how rude!" Mercedes. "We'll just go find help somewhere else then. Let's go, ladies."

Mercedes quickly stepped out. Santana followed, dragging Brittany along with her.

Suddenly, thunder boomed threateningly, and in a matter of seconds, the clear blue skies became monochromatically cloudy. Nearly immediately after, it began to pour excessively.

Mercedes, Santana, and Brittany hurried back to the car, where Kurt, Tina, and Rachel were motioning them to hurry up. They jumped into the car hastily, closed the door, and turned back to see what was happening.

Through the pouring rain, they could distinguish the silhouettes of the shady characters, all now standing outside of the gas station and watching them malevolently.

"Drive! Drive! Drive!" Rachel yelled in panic. Mercedes started the car and started driving back down the dirt path through which they had arrived. Only a few seconds after getting on the path, vehicle stopped and seemed to sink just a bit. The sound of the wheels trying but failing to get the car somewhere was audible.

"Crap…" Mercedes said, stepping out. Sure enough, the rain turned the dirt into mud and the car was stuck. She climbed back into the car.

"Okay, you guys get out and push and I'll step on the peddle."

"Are you crazy! Those freaks are out there!" Santana complained.

"But if you don't, we'll be stuck here forever!"

"But at least it's safe in the car!"

"And we have Jesus!" Brittany held up her bible.

"…okay…we'll just think of something else, then…" Mercedes sighed.

* * *

_Why did we have to start arguing? Why did I have to be reminded of everything that happened?_

Finn stopped running for a second to examine his surroundings, which, like the past several minutes, consisted of only trees. The road was no longer in sight. On top of that, it had just started to storm again, making vision even more impossible.

_Great, now what? I'm probably going to die out here. Whatever. They probably don't even care._

Finn leaned against a tree, and then sat on the wet ground, putting his face in his hands.

_What's wrong with me? I probably overreacted earlier…that __**was**__ the past, after all. I shouldn't be complaining about it now…_

"Finn! Finn! Come on, man, where'd you go!" Finn heard a familiar voice calling, followed by thunder roaring fiercely. "Finn, where are you! I hate thunder and lightning but I'm not going back to the car without you!"

Finn sighed, then responded: "Mike!"

"Finn?" Mike followed the voice until he found Finn sitting by one of the trees, understandably drenched. "Finn…" Mike started.

"I know, I know…"

"But I don't. What got into you back there?" Mike sat down beside Finn.

"I…remembered everything Quinn did to me and I got sort of overwhelmed…"

"'Sort of' seems like an understatement to me…"

Finn laughed, then sighed. "We've barely been on the road for two days and look what's happened so far!"

"Yeah, I'm kind of scared to see what else we have to go through," Mike admitted, "but we can't keep going on if you don't come back to the car…"

"But how am I supposed to face Quinn now?"

"People have problems, Finn, but they don't go away just by ignoring them. I know you _want_ things to be okay between you and Quinn, but you have to at least _try_."

Finn sighed again. "…Okay, let's try then." He got up, then helped Mike up. "And besides, I'm cold and wet out here. So let's go."

"Perfect, so…I came from that way…" Mike pointed in a specific direction, "…I think."

"You think?"

Mike shrugged innocently.

* * *

"I'm hungry," Puck said, taking out a bag of Doritos from the back of the seat.

"When aren't you hungry, Puck?" Artie wondered. "By the way, where are Finn and Mike? They've been gone for like twenty minutes! _And_ it started raining again!"

"I'm sure they're fine," Matt reassured. "I hope…" He handed Quinn another tissue, which she blew her nose in and tossed away before taking another.

"Hey, this reminds me of that one scene in the movie _Jurassic Park_!" Artie exclaimed. "It's stormy, which makes it really dark, and the car won't move. Now all we need is a ferocious monster to attack us."

"I don't exactly think we _need_ any monster to attack us," Matt said.

"Although that _would_ explain why Mike and Finn aren't back yet. Maybe they got eaten," Puck suggested. He opened his bag of Doritos and rubbed the fog off of the window to see if he could see Finn and Mike anywhere, but his eyes grew wide. He began to eat the Doritos like popcorn at the movies during an intense scene.

"Puck? What's up?" Artie said, trying to look over Puck.

Curious, Matt rubbed the fog off of his window to see what was up, and he saw it, too.

"Oh, cool! A bear! Right by my car! Quick, someone take a picture!" Matt exclaimed. The black bear was busy investigating the parked vehicle. It sniffed around the tires, the doors, and the windows, until it reached the window through which Puck was looking.

"Puck…put those Doritos away…now…" Artie said. The bear pressed its nose to the window, its interest piqued. It raised a paw and started scratching at the window.

"Hey, watch it! My mom will kill me if I get a scratch on this car!" Matt worried, though it was probably too late.

The bear, oblivious to Matt, started shaking the car, trying to get to the treats inside.

Quinn screamed. "It's going to kill us, isn't it? We're all going to die, aren't we?"

The bear just roared and continued shaking.

* * *

After having walked through trees for ten minutes in a direction Mike and Finn thought wasn't the right one, they finally emerged onto the road.

"Holy crap, is that a bear!" Finn yelled a little too loud.

"Shhhh!" Mike insisted. The bear turned from the car to the teenage boys standing on the side of the road. "Don't…move…" The curious black bear started walking toward the two newcomers.

Puck jumped out of the car, waving the Doritos in the air. "Hey!" he yelled, hoping to distract the bear, "Hey! Over _here_!" Once the bear looked that direction, Puck threw the bag off to the side. The bear rushed for the cheesy treat as Mike and Finn rushed to get in the car. Puck joined them.

"That was close…" Mike said.

But the bear wasn't done. It finished the Doritos and turned back to the car. It started to approach the car again, but it was suddenly frightened by a bright light. It ran off into the forest.

Everyone in the car turned around to see what scared the bear, and sure enough, headlights were visible in the distance. The incoming car pulled up behind them, and a figure stepped out.

* * *

"I can't take this anymore! We have to get out and push the car!" Rachel declared.

"Are you crazy!"

"Do you want to die!"

"Haven't you seen the movies!"

Suddenly, all the skepticism died down as they noticed headlights coming down the path. A man in a truck drove up behind their car, and Mercedes and company noticed a familiar minivan being towed along behind them.

From there, everything was explained. The man towing Matt's car was someone named Charlie, who had driven up behind them and helped them out. Charlie explained how the residents of this tiny town simply scare people like they did because they rarely get visitors, possibly because there is a gas station just before that town and nobody ever has to stop. Charlie got through to the once-thought-to-be crazy people and Matt's minivan was filled up with gas. The thunderstorm let up, and Brittany spread the word of Jesus to the townsfolk. Then, the two cars filled with Gleeks took off once again, back on the route to Hollywood.

* * *

**Gah, I hate that ending. But I just wanted to start on the next chapter. I promise, Chapter Six will be awesomesauce. Something big is going to happen within the next two chapters, so get ready!**

**So, hoping for an update on Monday! The more you review, the faster I write, so review!**


	6. Mistakes

**Okay. I fail. Epicly. The word 'deadline' doesn't exist in my vocabulary, apparently. I'm SO sorry for the long wait! I knew it would become difficult to juggle school, band, and this eventually. That, on top of a major writer's block and loss of motivation to write the story, did not help. However, one thing especially did: the Season 2 premiere of Glee! Strange to say that, seeing how one of the biggest characters of this story is no longer in the show... SAD FACE times INFINITY :(((**

**But that's exactly why I HAD to keep writing. To let the legacy of Matt Rutherford live on! Perhaps one day he will return...**

**It also sucks because I was hoping this story would line up with the show's plot. We'll have to see how well that plays out in the end.**

**Now, on to this chapter. This was so much fun to write! It's my favorite chapter so far, and it's also the longest (I think...) and most plot-filled so sit back, relax, and enjoy!**

**READ AND REVIEW!**

**DISCLAIMER: I own everything! However, in my world, everything=nothing. Therefore, I own nothing... :( but I can still manipulate characters to do my biddings! MUAHAHAHAHA! Okay, I think I'm talking WAY too much...**

* * *

_**Chapter Six - Mistakes**_

Throughout the next several days, there were virtually no problems.

Rachel still ignored Quinn and Santana, thus Santana ignored Rachel, Mercedes, and Tina.

Quinn and Mercedes still promised to be best friends forever.

Matt and Quinn's friendship continued to grow.

Brittany lost her bible.

Mike kept his confused feelings secret to only Kurt.

Santana confessed to throwing Brittany's bible out the window while they were driving.

Brittany easily forgave Santana and they shared a slushie.

Finn seriously considered Mike's advice, but took no action to solve the problems just yet.

Consequently, Finn and Quinn avoided each other.

Due to their leeway time of more than two weeks, the Gleeks advanced slowly. With fifteen days to go, they soon found themselves driving in Oklahoma, soon to arrive in Tulsa. The sun was already setting, painting the sky a brilliant orange. The few clouds surrounding the departing sun were bathed in a subtle shade of pink.

Brittany was staring at the scene in awe. "I like sunsets…" she said to her best friend sitting next to her without turning her head.

"Eh…I could care less about them," Santana answered, going back to filing her nails. Finn, who was sitting in the front seat, turned around.

"It's okay, Britt, I like sunsets." Santana gave him a dirty look, prompting him to turn back around and talk to Mercedes, who was currently driving.

"So…I'm hungry, and it's dinner time. I want to go to Applebee's!"

"Finn, you're so…actually, that sounds like fun!" she answered.

Mercedes texted Matt in the other car, and before the Gleeks knew it, they were stopping in some medium-sized city's Applebee's for dinner.

The somewhat out-of-place group of teenagers entered all at once, laughing and/or arguing as usual. A blonde waitress walked up to them: "How serve may I you today?" She grew wide-eyed at her fumble. "Oh…I'm sorry, this is my first day. I've been practicing all week to make sure I didn't mess up, but it looks like that training just all flew out the window! Hehehe…" She motioned her words with her hands, then laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck. Mercedes just smiled and nodded, pretending she was interested. "So…why don't I get a couple of tables together for your group…?" the novice waitress showed them to their table, and they ordered their drinks.

As they awaited the arrival of their beverages, Rachel spoke up: "I believe we should limit what we spend here. If we continue to blow through the money provided to us by our parents, we might run out before we get to Hollywood!"

"I doubt that'll happen," Santana argued, "We can get what we want here, and we don't need you of all people to tell us otherwise."

"I'm just saying that we would be better safe than sorry."

"And I'm just saying you're not in control."

"Santana, would you really want to run out of money and be stranded somewhere miles away from home?"

"Berry, that's not going to happen, so quit talking."

And of course, Rachel argued with Santana, and Santana argued with Rachel.

This exchange of heated words continued for a while. Brittany and Finn had to order Santana and Rachel's meals because they wouldn't shut up long enough to order them themselves. About halfway into the meal, everyone was shaking their heads in annoyance at the disagreeing duo.

The waitress stopped by and gave them the check, and Santana and Rachel were somehow now arguing about a topic completely different than before.

"I have to go to the bathroom, be right back," Finn informed Rachel, who ignored him. He got up and left.

Puck was getting annoyed at the disagreements. "Will you two just shut up!" he yelled.

"Not until Santana here realizes that _West-Side Story_ was a brilliant creation!"

"I've never even heard of it!" she argued. Rachel gasped, and the two continued arguing.

Brittany stood up, "I'm going to go fix my hair before we leave."

She was ignored…

"You deprived human being, how could you not have heard of _West-Side Story_!"

"I'm not deprived, I'm _normal_! Not that you would understand that word!"

"I am beyond normal!"

"You wish!"

The two kept at it even as Mercedes paid the dining bill, even as everyone piled into the cars to drive away and find a motel, and even as the group was getting out of the car after arriving at the motel, ready to separate into their gender-specific rooms.

"I'm obviously right about this."

"No, Berry, you're not. I am, and that's that."

"I'm sure Finn would back me up, wouldn't you, Finn?"

"Well, Brittany obviously agrees with _me_, don't you, Britt?"

"Finn?"

"Brittany?"

The teenage girls snapped out of argument mode and looked around for their friends.

"Finn, where are you?"

"Brittany, quit playing around!" Their eyes wandered around in search of their friends, but to no avail. That's when they realized it.

"Oh my god…" Rachel uttered.

"We left them at Applebee's!" Santana panicked.

**GLEE**

"…I don't think their coming back…" Finn said, having returned from the bathroom only to an empty table. Brittany was sitting next to him and staring blankly into space.

"That's…not cool," she said. The two sat in amazement for a while.

"We should call them…" Finn said, breaking the silence.

"I don't have my phone…it's in Matt's car…"

"Mine too…"

"That sucks…" They sighed.

The waitress stopped by.

"Um…your friends already paid the bill…but did you want to order something else and start another one?"

"Actually, I'm pretty full. What about you, Brittany?"

"No, I'm good."

"Alright." She walked away. Brittany narrowed her eyes slightly in thought.

"Why do they call it 'being full'?" she asked Finn. He cocked his head to a slight angle, thinking about it.

"Um…because our stomachs are full…?" he answered.

"Well…if we say we're full when our stomachs are full, why don't we say we're empty when they aren't?"

"Empty?"

"Yeah."

"That kind of sounds like our stomachs are out of battery power or something…like we have an imaginary measuring thing that measures our hunger…"

Brittany looked confused.

"Then, next thing you know, you'll have people like Rachel saying 'My energy meter has depleted considerably' when she's hungry, you know, with her big words…and stuff…"

Brittany laughed. "You're pretty funny, Finn."

"You think?...Rachel doesn't always seem to think that…"

"Rachel doesn't sound like a very good girlfriend right now…she _did_ forget you here, and she hasn't come back yet…"

"Santana doesn't seem like a great friend, either. She also hasn't come back yet."

"So…do you want to try and find the motel ourselves?"

"…Yeah, sounds cool." Finn stood up from the chair and headed for the door. Brittany followed.

Several minutes passed and they found themselves on a street with shops on either side of the road, most of which had a "Closed" sign hanging in the front window.

"Oh, Finn, can you buy me that pair of jeans?" Brittany begged, pointing to one of the display windows.

"That store is closed, Brittany, and even if it wasn't, I have no money."

"Aww…how about those shoes?"

"Again: the store's closed; I have no money."

"Oh my gosh, I have a skirt that would go great with this jacket! Can we get it?"

"Brittany!"

"Sorry…" Brittany laughed like a child. Finn just shook his head and smiled.

**

* * *

**

"I'm going back to Applebee's to find them!" Rachel declared angrily yet determined, turning to Mercedes for her car keys. She, along with the other Gleeks, was standing outside the motel rooms, discussing their most recent mistake.

"Girl, don't be crazy," Mercedes said in response, "I'm not letting you drive my car when you're this mad."

Rachel scoffed and turned to Matt.

He laughed, somewhat sarcastically. "No, I can't trust you right now. How about I go back for them?" he answered. "You and Santana have done enough for today, so _please_…go to bed…silently."

"Well, if we're done here, I have a nightly facial routine which I have to perform," Kurt said, crossing his arms, "so good night everyone." Kurt walked back into the room, followed by the other guys.

Santana walked up to Matt threateningly. "You better bring Brittany back." She glared at him, but then looked away. For a brief second, the first second in a long time, Matt sensed a hint of vulnerability. "I feel like an idiot…leaving her there…"

Matt looked at her blankly, but then smiled comfortingly. "We all are at fault here. We have to hope she forgives all of us, but don't worry about it. People make mistakes."

"I'm not worrying!" Santana pulled up her best possible glower, crossed her arms, and walked away. Matt silently chuckled, turning to walk to his car. He was surprised, however, when Mike jogged up next to him.

"Uh…mind if I tag along?" he said.

"Yes…I mean, no…wait…no, I don't mind, sure, you can come along…"

Mike chuckled, and Matt smiled. They hopped into the minivan and drove off.

**

* * *

**

"Finn…my feet hurt," Brittany complained.

"I can't do anything about your feet." Finn stopped walking and looked around. They had somehow found themselves strolling a through a pleasant neighborhood, one of those picture-perfect streets with houses that have white picket fences and signs showing off top-quality security company logos. "I don't think we're going the right way. How did we end up here, anyway?"

"We stopped at that last crosswalk and you said the motel _has_ to be down this street and I said we should turn back but you disagreed and started walking anyway."

Finn looked at his blonde friend blankly. "…Shut up."

Brittany pouted, but then stopped and pointed ahead of her.

"Look! A bench!" She smiled and started skipping happily toward the seat. Finn just sighed and tried to keep up with her.

The bench was situated in front of a grassy park and accompanied by a single light post, granting the quaint area a small glow.

Brittany sat down, Finn in tow.

"Now what?" Finn wondered. Brittany sighed and put her head on her friend's shoulder.

"I'm tired," she sighed, closing her eyes.

"Brittany, don't…" Finn was too late as she had already begun to snore. He sighed and leaned his head back, ready for his own nap.

**

* * *

**

Rachel, Santana, Mercedes, Tina, and Quinn were in their motel room. Santana was sitting on the bed face down in anger, Tina was already asleep on the other bed, Quinn was making her own bed on the floor, and Mercedes was getting some pajamas together. Rachel stood up. "This is an outrage. I should be the one looking for Finn."

"Rachel, we already agreed against that. Give it up," Mercedes argued. Rachel scoffed.

"Whatever."

"Now, I'm going to go take a shower, and you need to calm down." Mercedes headed for the bathroom.

Rachel crossed her arms and sat firmly on the motel's chair. The other Glee girls ignored her

Rachel sighed, and looked around the room. Three things popped out to her: Quinn was a natural at making beds on the floor, Animal Planet has way too many shows about animals mating, and Mercedes had left her car keys on the table by the door…

To Rachel's luck, nobody was paying attention to her.

**

* * *

**

Mike and Matt hastily walked back into Applebee's, searching around for their friends. The same waitress as before greeted them.

"If you're looking for your friends, they left. If you're looking for a date, call me!" She handed Mike a small piece of paper. Matt glared at her.

"Never mind, let's go," he said, turning around. A shocked Mike was dragged along.

The two stepped outside and looked both ways. To the right, there was a series of stores and small shops. To the left, there were several hotels and motels, including a sign pointing to their own.

"Well, obviously, they must've gone in that direction!" Mike said, pointing to the left. He followed Matt into his car.

"So…what was up with you back there?" Mike asked his friend.

"Um…nothing. You know, I was just anxious to find Finn and Britt."

"I see…"

"Yup…"

Mike pulled out the small paper he was given, but before he could even comprehend what was written on it, Matt grabbed it and tossed it out the window.

"Don't bother with her, she's married," Matt explained.

"How would you know?"

"She had a ring on her finger."

"Oh…"

"Yup…"

The car fell awkwardly silent. The two boys continued looking out the window for their friends.

"…Were you jealous?" Mike said half-jokingly. He chuckled and looked at Matt, who stared blankly ahead. Suddenly, he pulled to the side of the road and looked at his friend, whose face was now showing obvious signs of confusion.

"Matt, what are you…" Before Mike's question could be finished, Matt leaned over and kissed him, quickly and lightly, and then pulled back.

Mike said nothing.

Matt said nothing.

The two stared into each other's eyes for a while, until Matt spoke up: "This is a mistake!" Matt jumped out of the car and onto the street, leaving a still shocked Mike behind.

**

* * *

**

Rachel was speeding along in Mercedes' car toward Applebee's. After she entered and received no sign of Brittany and Finn (although she did receive a piece of paper with that waitress' number, strangely enough), she left.

Eventually, she came across two streets. To the right, there was a series of stores and small shops. To the left, there were several hotels and motels.

"Knowing Finn and Britt…" Rachel said to herself, "…they wouldn't have noticed the signs for the hotels and motels. Knowing Matt and Mike, they wouldn't have realized this, thus turning left toward the motel to find them. In that case, they would have already found the two and would have returned to the motel, and upon realizing I was missing, would have called me. However, seeing as how I have yet to be called, they must not have found Finn and Brittany, meaning they did not go left. In conclusion, I shall go right!" Rachel beamed at her ability to somewhat overanalyze certain situations.

She drove for a while, using her knowledge of Finn's mind to follow their exact path. At one point, she parked in the parking lot of one of the stores and began to walk in an effort to figure out Finn's path even more.

"Let's see…" Rachel looked around at the quaint neighborhood. "At this point, Finn must have been getting tired, so he and Brittany must have been drawn to the nearest form of light, hoping to find rest." Rachel smiled at her odd ability before approaching the small glow of a street lamp, seeing two figures in a bench cuddling comfortably.

"So, if I take several more steps this way, I should see…" Rachel's face turned to sheer horror. "FINN!" She shrieked.

* * *

**CLIFF HANGER! HANGING FROM A CLIFF!...AND THAT'S WHY HE'S CALLED CLIFF HANGER!**

**Oh my goodness, I just had a major brain fart. Where is that cliff hanger song from!**

**Anywho, uh-oh! Tons of mistakes being made in this chapter! What'd you think? Review with your thoughts!**

**I really don't want a repeat of this update in that I took too long, so Reviews will definitely boost my spirits and keep me writing! Again, so sorry for the huge delay!**

**Also! Nobody has guessed the movie yet! I'm just gonna throw this huge hint out there right now: the director who chose Tina for her role in the first chapter shares his first and last name with one of the brilliant brains behind a popular musical movie. I'm 99.99999% sure you have heard of this movie.**

**Okay, I won't distract you anymore with my incoherent babbling. REVIEW!**


	7. Confessions

**Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. I haven't updated since forever. But it's a new year, and I've realized my goal on becoming a professional writer, maybe an author, and therefore I've made a New Year's Resolution to write more, especially to FINISH THIS STORY. At first, during the first month without updating, it was because a problem arose and my laptop ended up getting stolen. However, with amazing friends and family, I was able to get a new, amazing laptop! Everything was lost, including my outline for this story, so I began to build it all up again. After that sad month, however, I really have no excuse not to have updated for such a long time. I always tell myself "Just look at the reviews for this story and that will be more than enough inspiration to start writing again," But it wasn't until today (January 1st, 2011) that I looked at it and forced myself to open a Microsoft Word document and start writing. I started and I didn't stop until I was finished, and this is the product. It's short, because I originally planned for something else to also happen in this chapter, but I decided to split it into another chapter.**

**On another note, the movie for which Tina is auditioning has been revealed to be a live version of Mulan. To be honest, I didn't think too much of who the director would be for the movie, and I instead just needed some random name to fill in that role, so I went and found some random VHS to get the name from, but I then decided to make that movie a bigger role in the story than once planned. So I will edit future chapters to tie in with the winner of that oh-so-exciting competition. I have a great idea for what I want to do, and it will end up affecting the entire story.**

**Again, I hope you can forgive me for waiting so long to update. I'm so sorry! Thank you for those of you who have stuck with the story so far, and I'm hoping I won't disappoint you.**

**It's a short chapter compared to the rest, so read and review and if the love for this story is as great as it has been, I'll work on updating within the next day or two. I'm going back to school in a week, so I fear a lack of updates...but another one of my resolutions was not to do my homework last minute as I have been, so hopefully it would give me time for other things, such as writing.**

**Enough of my nonsense. Get to reading!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't feel like making some witty remark that tells you I don't own anything, so...I don't own anything.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_Chapter Seven - Confessions_

Her idea of romance went a little like this:

She and her special someone are alone at night. The sky is cloudless and the stars are plentiful. They are sitting on a quaint park bench, lit and colored orange by only one small street lamp. She is comfortably but not too sexually situated on top of him, and they are lying down and resting. Nothing else matters, and they are the only two people in the world. For a moment, everything is right.

But this was not right. This was all happening, but not to her. Worst of all, it was happening between HER boyfriend and ANOTHER girl!

"Finn!" Rachel screamed.

"Huh? What?" Finn woke up with a start, nearly throwing Brittany off of his body in the process. "Where am I?" Finn looked around and wiped the sleep out of his eyes, until his gaze met Rachel's glare. "Oh, hey Rachel!"

Brittany began to wake as well, sitting up and looking around. "Rachel!" she exclaimed, jumping up to give her friend a hug.

"Don't touch me!" Rachel yelled coldly. Brittany abruptly stopped. Rachel turned to her boyfriend. "I can't believe you."

"It wasn't what it looked like! We didn't do anything, I swear!"

"Shut up!" Rachel turned around and stormed back the way she came.

"Wait!" Finn jumped up and chased after her. Brittany, unaware and uncaring of what was going on, followed Finn.

* * *

Mike sat in disbelief in the car. Barely one minute ago had the man of his dreams practically confessed his feelings to him through a quick little action. So why didn't he feel right? Why wasn't he ecstatic? Mike's thoughts raced.

Well, he did pretty much run away after he kissed him. Mike shivered at that thought: Matt Rutherford had kissed Mike Chang! Unbelievable! Which is why he must've fled right afterwards.

Mike snapped out of his thoughts with one realization: something must be wrong! Swiftly, he opened the door and hopped out himself, proceeding to scope out his surroundings in hopes of finding his friend. He spotted the silhouette of what must've been Matt a good distance ahead of their vehicle, so Mike jogged to catch up with him.

Mike put his hand on Matt's shoulder. "Wait!" He exclaimed.

Matt stopped. "What?"

"Don't pretend you don't know what happened."

"Why not!" Matt spun around in frustration. Mike stepped back in reaction, but immediately noticed the tears forming in Matt's eyes. "Why can't we pretend that didn't happen? Why can't we pretend I don't feel like this? It would make everything a hell of a lot easier!"

"It's not going to be easy, Matt…" Mike said. "It wasn't easy with Kurt, and it won't be with us, either." Mike looked down. "I have to confess something…"

Matt looked at his friend with a genuinely yet suddenly benign disposition. "What's wrong?"

"…When we first started this road trip, and you picked me up from my house…nothing was okay. Truth is…my parents didn't let me come on this trip. When I asked, and they said no, we got into an argument…about you. They had a fear that I might have wishes for you to be more than my best friend, and they didn't like it. They confronted me about it, and I confessed to being gay." Mike looked up at Matt with the last comment, whose eyes showed great worry. "So…they kicked me out."

All at once, tears invaded Mike's eyes. Matt spoke up: "Mike…I'm so…sorry…" Without saying anything else, Matt simply embraced Mike for a comforting hug. For at least a minute, Matt just held him like that, being unable to think of the words to ease his friend's emotions. He didn't, after all, have to deal with homophobic parents.

Mike was the first to speak. "I don't have anywhere to go after all of this, Matt…"

"That's not true! If there's one thing I'm sure about, it's that your parents love you, and they will learn to accept you no matter what. They just need some time, and I'm sure when we get back to Ohio, they will welcome you back with open arms. I know they miss you right now…"

Mike, now in control of his tears, broke the hug to look at his friend. "I hope that's true…"

"I know it's true…"

Mike smiled. "But there's still one thing I need to know…"

"What's that?"

"So…are you gay?"

Matt hesitated, and then answered. "No. Not really. Kinda. I don't know…I just know I feel right when I'm with you…"

"Ditto…" Mike said. Mike grabbed Mike's hand. "But…you're not alone. You know I'll take your hand. Sound familiar?"

Matt laughed. "I guess I'll keep holding on, then." Mike smiled.

"So, we should get back to the car. Brittany and Finn aren't going to find themselves, you know."

So, hand in hand, they walked back to the car, ready for the challenges ahead of them.

* * *

After several blocks of running, Rachel finally got tired and slowed down, allowing Finn to catch up.

"Rachel, stop!" Finn implored. "You have to listen."

Rachel did as Finn said, but refused to turn around and look into his eyes.

"Look…I don't know how Brittany and I ended up in that position, but I know I never meant for it to happen. But, even bigger than that: you of all people didn't notice when me and Brittany were missing."

"Brittany and I," Rachel corrected.

"…Whatever. You know what I'm telling you."

"So…I guess we both made mistakes."

"Yeah…mine was a little less of my own than yours, but…yeah. But you came back, and you found us, which means you care…to be honest, before, I was mad at you for this, but seeing as how you're the only one who looked for us, it makes me feel loved."

"Well, Mike and Matt went out to look for you, too, but I'm not surprised they haven't found you yet." Rachel turned around and looked up at Finn. "They don't know you as well as I do!" Rachel smiled. Finn laughed and hugged his girlfriend.

For a moment, everything was right.

Then, Brittany caught up with them and shouted "Guys! I think I left my cricket on the bench! We have to go back for him!"

Finn and Rachel had no clue what she was talking about, so they just laughed.

* * *

**So...short chapter, as well as a more dramatic chapter. I originally planned for the plot to thicken in this chapter, but expect things to take off in my next update, which will hopefully be tomorrow or the next day.**

**Also, in my next chapter, I hope to start adding in Review Replies before every chapter, like I promised a while ago. In my opinion, public replies to reviews proves to the world that the author really is paying attention to what you guys are saying, despite popular belief, and in my book, replying in text will help me make an active effort to change my writing for the better. Also, I think it makes anyone else who didn't review both want to review and also want to go back and read the reviews, and I believe reviewers seeing what others thought is always a productive thing.**

**So, reviews fuel my creativity, so go out there and tell me what you think about this chapter and the whole story so far, as well as what you would like in the story in the future!**


	8. Panic

**Wow! An update so soon? Well, to be honest, I'm not very confident about this chapter. Not only is it another short one (and likely the last short one for a while) but it didn't come out as important as I planned it to be. Have no fear, I finally started planning everything about this story out in detail, so I know where I want to go with this fic.**

**Now, as promised, it's time for ME to reply to YOUR reviews!**

**TopHatGirl - Thanks! Yeah, I feel like punching Rachel sometimes too, which is why I had to make sure I accomplished that feature in the story as well. And go ahead, hug anyone you want. I like hugs (hint hint, wink wink, nudge nudge)**

**Greenberry Rhythm**** - Yeah, I like the Matt/Mike parts too. But, I have to try and add in relationships between other characters. I can't forget about them, so expect some Tina/Artie action to happen in the near future. (Not this chapter, sorry if I got your hopes up.) But ultimately, Mike and Matt will be the major pairing of the story. Hope you enjoy it!**

**lost-in-the-lyrcs**** - First of all, I have to admit, I love your username. I dont' know what it is, but I like it. Second, nothing personal was on my laptop. I keep everything I want to keep on my flashdrive, so everything on my laptop was either stuff that could be recovered or material things that I can get over. For example, I had the documents for the chapters of this story on here, but I also had a story back-up on my flashdrive. So it's all good, thanks though. Third, I like overdramatic Rachel too. It's something I notice in her in the show, so I'm trying to reflect it in the story. And Brittany: yeah, I love her. I have to admit, I'm studying Brittany's lines to make up my own in this story of equal humor. I'm not sure I'm pulling it off, but I'm hoping so. For example, Brittany talks about a cricket that reads to her in the show. Well, I've made that cricket a character (sort of). Also, like you said, that chapter was dialogue heavy, and I realized it while writing. This one is just as short, if not shorter, so it may be another one like that, sorry! Trust me, though, I have big plans for the future, and unlike these passed few chapters, I have the next chapter planned out in detail, ready to start writing anytime.**

**So, thanks for the reviews! But by no means does that mean stop reviewing! Read this, then review again! It makes me a happy author!**

**DISCLAIMER: i aint bein da owner of nun o' dis, yo!**

_**

* * *

**_

Chapter 8 – Panic

The walk back to the car was serene for Finn, Rachel, and Brittany. Apparently, the cricket (named Reginald, according to the blonde) found its way back to the group, easing her worry.

The three approached Mercedes' stolen car. Rachel walked toward the driver's side door, taking out the keys to unlock it, but Finn absentmindedly opened the door before Rachel did anything.

"Oops, I must have left the door unlocked," Rachel said. "My bad."

The friends ignored the mistake, got in the car, and began to drive.

"Finn, Reginald is mad at you for leaving him at the bench."

"Brittany, I didn't even know Reginald existed until a few minutes ago." Finn shook his head in confusion.

"Reginald says that's no excuse and I shouldn't listen to you."

"So are you going to let that grasshopper–"

" –Cricket."

"Cricket…decide what you do from now on?"

Brittany stopped and looked out the window, deep in thought. "That's…not a bad idea!"

"…Pinocchio much?" Rachel said. Finn shrugged.

"Reginald says you talk too much, Rachel."

"What! I…whatever."

"Yeah, that's what Reginald thought."

Rachel scowled. "I don't like Reginald…"

"Reginald doesn't care." Brittany said as-a-matter-of-factly.

**

* * *

**_Life's what you make it so let's make it rock!_

_Life's what you make it so come on! Come on!_

_Everybody now!_

"NO! I DON'T WANT TO!" Santana screeched, finally grabbing the remote and turning off the horror that was Midnight Karaoke, a new game invented by Tina where they sing any song that comes on Disney Channel.

"Hey! I was just getting into it!"

"No you weren't. Shut up." Santana barked coldly.

Tina frowned, and then looked confused. "Hey…I just realized something…"

"What's that?" Mercedes asked.

"Rachel's not here."

"Really?" Quinn asked. Everyone looked around the room to indeed learn Rachel was missing.

But then she walked through the door with Brittany right behind her.

"Brittany!" Santana exclaimed, running to give her friend a hug, which Brittany welcomed with open arms.

"Did you go out and find them yourself?" Mercedes asked.

"Uh…yeah." Rachel admitted.

"And whose car did you use?"

"Uh…yours."

"No you didn't! Girl, that's a HUGE mistake. But…you did find Brittany…so…I think I might forgive you…"

Rachel smiled happily. "Good! Now, I'm tired, so I'm going to bed.

"Yeah, I'm tired of Tina's singing." Quinn admitted.

"Hey!" Tina objected. "…Yeah, me too."

"But first, we should call Mike and Matt." Mercedes suggested. "Those two are probably still looking."

**

* * *

**

Matt and Mike continued to drive around the neighborhood in search of their friends. However, they spent more of their time conversing than looking.

Matt asked about how long Mike knew he was gay. Mike admitted that he didn't remember, he just sort of developed a crush on a guy and it eventually consumed his life.

Matt didn't ask, but he was pretty sure he was that crush.

And even now, Mike admitted, he wasn't absolutely sure about his sexuality.

"Does anyone else know?" Matt asked.

"Kurt. I've been talking to him about it lately. It's really helped me."

Matt nodded in understanding. Mike looked over at his friend, who had his eyes on the road at the moment. He knew what Matt was thinking: most likely about what happened, and how he's going to go about it in the future.

Mike popped in a difficult question: "How long do you think this is going to be a secret for us?"

Matt snapped out of his thoughts and looked surprised at the sudden question. He didn't seem ready to answer it.

"Uh…I have no idea."

"Oh…I understand." Mike said.

Matt sighed. He knew Mike wanted to be with him, and not just in secret. It killed him inside to want to keep it a secret, but he felt like it was for the best.

Mike shot out another difficult question: "So…are we dating?"

Before Matt could even open his mouth to answer, Mike's phone rang. He answered it.

"Hello?...Mercedes?...oh, that's good. Okay, we'll go back then…yeah, bye."

Matt spoke up. "Did they find Finn and Britt?"

"Yeah, we can go back."

"Cool."

Mike's question was never answered.

**

* * *

**

The next morning, the Gleeks got ready, as usual, and piled into the cars. Their first stop was the gas station, as both cars were running low on gas.

"Okay, I'm not planning on stopping again for a long while," Mercedes said, taking command, "So get what you need here, go to the bathroom, whatever. You got three minutes. Ready…go!"

The Gleeks scrambled like eggs to do what was necessary. Artie stayed behind, believing it would just cost them some time if he went. He admitted he didn't have to go to the bathroom, too.

Mercedes was shuffling through the glove compartment in search of something.

"Hey, Artie, if you want, I can get you something."

"Nah, it's cool. Thanks though."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Hey, what are you looking for?"

"I'm trying to find the wallet with all our money for gas and hotels in it. Do you know if anyone moved it?"

"I don't think so…"

"Oh…"

"Uh-oh…"

The search went from casual to panic. Mercedes was now frantically tossing papers everywhere.

"Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap." Mercedes said as she freaked out.

"Okay," Artie said, dodging each paper, "Calm down. I'm sure it's somewhere. Try checking in the other–"

Before he could finish, Matt popped up by the car. "Hey, guys, I kind of need money to fill up my car. Did you forget? We don't keep the money in my car."

Artie and Mercedes grew wide-eyed.

"…What?" Matt asked.

Rachel was the first to return to the car. Mercedes glanced at Rachel but immediately returned to searching. Suddenly, she stopped.

"YOU!" Mercedes pointed at Rachel angrily.

"I know, I like me too," Rachel stated vainly.

"You were the last one in the car, and now the money is missing!"

"What! Are you accusing me of stealing the money! Let's be realistic, here. What would I do with all that money?"

"Rachel has a point," Artie said.

"But…" she continued, "I remember, when I got back to the car after I found Finn and Brittany…"

Rachel drifted off, and her face twisted to sheer horror.

"What? WHAT!" Mercedes yelled impatiently.

"I…accidentally…left the doors unlocked…"

At this, the four present Gleeks feared the worst.

Rachel said what everyone was thinking: "Someone must've stolen the money."

* * *

**So, short chapter leads to short note. Sorry for the shortness of this short update.**

**Please review shortly after reading this short chapter.**

**I'm not that short, by the way. I'm rather mid-sized.**


	9. Talent

**Hey guys! I'm on a roll! Here's another chapter. I personally loved this chapter a lot because so much is introduced in this chapter that will be important later on!**

**Random note because I don't have much else to say other than Review Replies: there was a glitch in the program that tells us about the story traffic, so I, along with other FF writers, was unable to see the hits for my past two chapters. If you didn't know before, I rely on both hits and reviews to give me inspiration to write, so this "blackout" period forced me to only hope that people were reading the story. Thankfully, your reviews kept me going!**

**Now, it's Review Reply time!**

**AllIWantForChristmasIsKlaine - Yeah, I miss Matt. I can't help but hope he might come back to the show. Wouldn't it be cool if we learn he was transferred to Carmel High School with Vocal Adrenaline and they Glee club sees him at Regionals or something? Well, I hope it's cool, because it's an idea for my next story ;)**

**CoolTrainerTerry - Thanks for your review! Fun fact: Reginald was originally going to be a one time event, but I think he might appear throughout the entire story, depending on how I like writing about him. Also, I miss Between The Lions, too... :((**

**TopHatGirl - Violence is not the answer...okay I can't say that honestly! I've wanted to do that a lot while watching Glee. Also, I know how you feel with the studying. It's a problem I've been fighting for years now.**

**lost-in-the-lyrics - Thanks! This update wasn't as quick as the last one, but it was kind of quicker than the one before that. :P I don't want to look it up, so I'm going to base this off of my memory: Brittany says "I think the cricket that reads to me at night is stealing my jewelry" in, I THINK, Season 2's Sectional episode. I just gave that cricket a name. Thanks for reading!**

**Thank you to all of you awesome people who have been reading this story so far! This is your reward: a new chapter!**

**Disclaimer - I own nothing!**

* * *

**_Chapter 9 - Talent_**

"Someone…stole…the money?" Mercedes repeated in shock.

"…Yeah, probably." Rachel said apologetically.

"We…have…no money?" Mercedes glared at Rachel.

"Well we still have money for food because we carry that on us all the time!" Rachel laughed awkwardly.

She received the look of death from Artie and Mercedes. Matt was pretty sure he heard the sound of growling before Mercedes jumped like a leopard toward Rachel.

Rachel fled, but Mercedes gave chase around the car and eventually around the entire gas station's parking lot.

Artie laughed, whereas Matt just watched in horror.

Quinn returned to the car during the event. She walked toward Artie's seat in the car.

"What's going on?" she asked, watching the chase going on in front of her.

"Rachel got all our money stolen," Artie answered.

"What!" Quinn screamed.

Rachel ran behind Matt, seeking shelter.

"If you hurt me, I will sue!" Rachel screamed over his shoulder.

"What if I kill you?" Mercedes asked.

"Okay, let's be rational here." Matt said, trying to ease Mercedes. "Killing Rachel won't help the situation."

Finn, Puck, Quinn, Kurt and Santana all returned.

"Why were you guys playing tag?" Finn asked.

"We weren't!" Mercedes said, annoyed. "Rachel got our money stolen!"

"What! How?" Puck wondered.

"I left the doors to the car unlocked and now the money isn't there…"

This prompted Santana, Puck, and Finn also proceed to scream with Rachel.

Time passed. Matt and Artie just watched the argument. Tina, Brittany, and Mike joined them.

"Reginald doesn't like arguing…" Brittany whined. Artie and Tina looked at her confusedly. Mike patted her on the back reassuringly.

By then, the argument was very heated. Everyone was screaming at everyone and blaming everyone for everything, except Brittany, Artie, Tina, Mike, and Matt, who didn't want to or know how to deal with this.

"This wouldn't have happened if you decided to get lost, Hudson!" Santana yelled at Finn.

"Well you wouldn't have left me if you hadn't decided yelling at Rachel was so much more important!"

Mercedes was still screaming at Rachel for what happened, and Quinn was trying to convince everyone that they should be focusing on the matter at hand. Any other side arguments had evolved to something completely unrelated.

"They sure can yell…" Tina admitted. "What do you think we should do, Artie?" Tina looked over. Artie had been busy getting his wheelchair set up and was now rolling away, toward the sidewalk.

Tina followed him worriedly, drawing the attention of Matt and Mike. They decided to see what was up, while Brittany just skipped along with them happily.

"Artie, what are you doing?" Tina asked, jogging to catch up with him. By now they were on the sidewalk, heading back the way they drove.

"I'm tired of them," he admitted. "They fight and argue and don't come up with any solutions."

"So where are you planning to go by yourself without a car and money?" Tina's question forced Artie to stop dead in his tracks. Artie turned around to look up at Tina.

"I…I don't know. Maybe we could get lucky and find a miracle or something…"

"Like a cliché movie plot twist?" Brittany asked, having joined the duo just then. "Reginald thinks those are overrated."

"Yeah, I agree with Reginald…whoever he is," Matt said, catching up with them. "I think we should make our own 'miracles' happen." He finger-quoted the word "miracles."

"Matt, that's cheesy." Brittany said. "Hey…where's Mike?"

"He was just right behind me…" They turned around to look further down the sidewalk and noticed his figure.

"Oh, he's staring at a light pole!" Brittany pointed out. Mike was indeed staring at a light pole.

Matt curiously approached Mike to see what was up when he saw the flyer posted on the pole. Matt jogged up and read the paper over Mike's shoulder.

"Talent Show at the City Auditorium! You could win a prize of $5,000! Call to learn more!"

The phone number was posted under the message.

"Wow…talk about a cliché plot twist," Matt murmured.

"What?"

"Never mind…but I have a plan…" Matt smiled slyly.

* * *

Matt's plan wasn't as psychotic as Artie, Tina, Brittany, and Mike (understandably) thought.

Call for information.

Enter the talent show.

Get the car without the rest of the Gleeks finding out.

Use a portion of what was left of the gas to drive to the city auditorium.

Use their awesome yet severely underappreciated talent skills to prepare a piece of music.

Win the talent show.

Sit down and have a serious talk with the rest of the Gleeks.

So far, the first four steps of the plan were complete. The talent show was that night, starting at seven, and they had gotten lucky and filled the very last available slot.

Surprisingly, none of the other Gleeks noticed when they left. Matt, Mike, Artie, Tina, and Brittany all agreed that, although having the entire Glee club singing would help performance-wise, it would be virtually impossible to create a great show with twelve disagreeing members.

And now, they sat in the parking lot of the city auditorium, hours before show time and nothing prepared. All they knew is that the show boosters would provide what was necessary: instruments, microphones, etc. They just had to make a performance out of it all.

"So…any ideas on what to sing?" Matt began the discussion.

"Well, I say we make it fun and enjoyable, something like _Girlfriend_ by Avril Lavigne!" Tina offered.

Artie disagreed. "I think, since it's a talent competition, we choose a much more difficult song that shows we have talent, like _Seasons of Love_ from Rent. That way, we would be able to showcase the strength in our vocals, as well as utilize an easy-to-learn instrumental background. It also has pretty powerful lyrics."

"I don't even know that song…" Brittany confessed.

"…Wow." Artie said in disbelief. "Deprived child…well then…"

"We should probably pick something a little more popular and mainstream, but still has everything Artie just mentioned." Mike suggested. "Not that _Seasons of Love_ is bad, I personally love it."

"Why not _Firework_ by Katy Perry?" Brittany asked. "I like that song, it makes me feel happy. Reginald tells me that Katy Perry made it especially for me!" Brittany smiled bubbly.

"I like that song, but…" Tina started, "My favorite part about it is the instrumental background blending in with the voice. The strings are just beautiful in that piece, and they don't seem easy to reproduce."

"True, we could never pull that part off," Artie said, "although we could try an acoustic cover!"

Everyone winced at the thought of that. "Okay, never mind…" Artie took it back.

"I have a great idea!" Matt said, pulling out his iPhone. "You have to check this out." The five Gleeks gathered around Matt. After deleting the seven missed calls from Quinn, Mercedes, and Kurt, Matt went to the video section on his phone. He pulled up one titled "Just a Dream – Me and Mike" and let it play.

It wasn't great quality, but enough to hear what was going on. Mike was sitting at the piano, and started to play a complicated-sounding melody. It was beautiful, but in a sad way. It was just like the original song's guitar part, but in a piano form, thus making it seem a little more heartfelt and full of emotion.

The piano's musical phrase repeated, and Matt is shown at an electric keyboard. The instrument is heard to be set at strings, and he's playing chords and a harmony that compliments the melody brilliantly.

The singing began in the next phrase, with Mike singing the first half of the chorus, Matt singing the other, and the two harmonizing periodically.

Throughout the video, the two demonstrated phenomenal vocal talent as well as instrumental talent, all while pouring heartbroken emotion into every lyric and line. After a dynamic climactic bridge, the song ended as quietly as it began.

"Wow…"

"Wow…"

"Amazing…"

Brittany, Tina, and Artie were in awe.

"We had no idea you guys were such awesome singers!" Tina exclaimed.

"Yeah, you never try out for solos, so we assumed you guys couldn't sing!" Artie admitted.

"Thanks!" Mike said.

"Although I can't help but feel that it was missing something," Matt admitted. "Like…perhaps a bit of percussion? And background vocals would be amazing as well."

"Then that's where we come in!" Artie suggested.

* * *

It was thirty minutes before the talent competition would start. Quinn, Mercedes, and the rest of the Gleeks had texted Mike, Matt, Tina, Artie, and Brittany numerous times, but Mike finally responded with a text saying "7:00. City Auditorium. Be there" as well as giving the address to their location. All the performers were backstage getting ready for the start. The Gleeks were in a circle, warming up vocally.

They had just finished when a teenage girl walked up to them.

"Hi, I just wanted to say, I've only heard you warm up, but you guys sound amazing!" she said. The girl looked about their age, and had short, black hair. She sort of looked like Tina, in fact.

"Oh, thanks!" Artie said.

"Where did you guys learn how to sing like that?" she wondered.

"Ohio! We're in a Glee club called New Directions," Mike explained.

"Interesting, I've never heard of them…I'm Rumiko, by the way!"

"Nice to meet you!" Tina said, shaking her hand. The girl proceeded to shake the rest of the Gleeks' hands.

"Are you in the talent show?" Brittany asked.

"No, but my grandmother is. She wants to win the prize because it would make life financially easier."

Another case of money problems, the Gleeks thought. But did they deserve the prize more?

* * *

Rachel, Finn, and the gang all arrived at the location Mike texted them, having used almost all of their gas as well.

"They better have a good reason for this," Santana said angrily. "It's not cool ditching us like that and making us waste gas."

"Whatever, let's just find them!" Mercedes said.

Annoyed, the entire group entered the building. They found themselves in a huge lobby, currently packed with people. Two sets of double doors were on either side of the far wall. A huge banner stretching from above one door to the next informed the Gleeks why they were here. It read: "23rd Annual Summer Talent Show!"

"Those guys entered a talent show!" Rachel exclaimed, "Without me! And they think they're going to win?"

"You have no idea how bad I want to pop your giant airhead, Berry." Santana said angrily.

Mercedes was looking around the huge room and past the crowd of people. "From all these posters, it looks like there's a grand prize of five grand!"

"No way!" The rest of the Gleeks looked around to verify the information.

"So…why didn't they tell us about it?" Quinn wondered. Before they could speculate, a familiar face walked up to greet them.

"Hey, look who it is!" she said. They recognized the face and the voice as the jovial waitress from Applebee's. "What are you folks doing here?"

"We're here to, uh…" Finn tried to figure out why they were here in the first place. "…to see our friends perform!"

"Is that so?" she said, "Well, I wish them the best of luck, but they have some big competition ahead of them."

"Like what?" Puck asked.

"Like Adalia, of course!"

The Gleeks looked puzzled.

"Oh, that's right; you guys must not be from here." The waitress explained; Adalia was a blind, elderly woman and a local to the town. She also happened to be homeless; she lost her husband and her home in a fire. Her granddaughter, who lived with her, is all she has left now. For years, she had been entering this competition to win money to get back on her feet, but every year, she would only get second place to someone else. "Gwyneth Paltrow," she told them.

"I love her!" Quinn exclaimed loudly. Santana shushed her.

"Yeah, she got her start in this little town, believe it or not. But now, she's gone and moved on to other things, so everyone is expecting and hoping for Adalia finally to win the prize she deserves. I'm here rooting her on!"

"Wow…that's an intense story…" Puck said.

The Gleeks all had the same thought: they needed the money to keep going on their road trip, but practically stealing it from someone who might deserve it more would be unfair. They didn't know what Mike, Matt, Tina, Artie, and Brittany had planned, but they knew about the talent of which they were capable. Once again, the Gleeks had absolutely no idea how to react to the situation at hand.

* * *

**So, personally, I loved that chapter. Things heat up in the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer #2 - I don't own Adalia. AllIWantForChristmasIsKlaine, the winner of the contest, created the character! I just loved the idea for her, so she's going to play a pretty big role in this story. Thanks, AllIWantForChristmasIsKlaine! (Two things about your username. 1. It takes forever to type. 2. I got confused because I think you had it as something else a while ago xD )**

**Now, about that song. It's a great song. It's my favorite song. It's "Just a Dream", originally by Nelly, but the version I can't get enough of is a cover by Sam Tsui and Christina Grimmie.**

**/watch?v=PT8gcZh_42w&feature=related. -It won't let me post the entire URL, so just put youtube, a dot, and com before that!**

**This is the version I imagined Matt and Mike singing. Also, Christina Grimmie is currently in a Youtube competition, and I really want her to win, so you should vote for her! Just watch her videos to learn about it.**

**I feel like I need another disclaimer after all that, so Disclaimer #3 - I don't own the song, the cover of the song, Youtube, Glee, Christina Grimmie, or anything else!**

**So review and tell me what you thought!**


	10. Performances

**Uh...wow. That's...not even excusable. I haven't updated in almost three months. I fail.**

**But I've planned out the rest of the story chapter by chapter. If everything goes well, there should be 17 chapters in the end. I'm also considering a sequel. I'll give you more info later on.**

**Time for some R and R!**

**AllIWantForChristmasIsKlaine - I'm gonna make this note as short as possible: Yes. I agree. :)**

**lost-in-the-lyrics - Nah, it's not bad. I kind of want her to win, too. But that's the whole point. ;)**

**Atsuko Uehara - Thank you for your kind words! I'm sorry I stopped it here, and I hope you can forgive me!**

**Thank you for all who reviewed, and keep reviewing!**

**Last but not least, two songs are featured in this chapter. The first is _Here I Am_ by Leona Lewis. ****The second is _Just a Dream_, cover by Christina Grimmie and Sam Tsui** . I encourage you to look them up if you don't know them!

**Disclaimer - I don't own Glee or the songs used in this chapter.**

* * *

_**Chapter 10 - Performances**_

The auditorium was packed. Every chair was being used but people were still standing in the backs and the sides of the auditorium. Had the Gleeks arrived any later, they wouldn't have found seven consecutive seats for themselves.

Soon, the host of the show arrived, a man of age no more than thirty.

"Good morning Oklahoma!" he announced with stately boldness. The crowd applauded for his appearance.

"Welcome to the 23rd annual Summer Talent Competition! This year, we've had the most competitors ever, so in an effort to end this on time, we're going to start immediately!"

The host introduced the first act: a classical pianist performing _Canon in D_.

* * *

The talent was diverse and abundant. While some of the talent included ventriloquists, comedians, and unique types of dancers, the most common competitors were musicians. Some played classical instrumental solos, while others sang a variety of types of genres ranging from opera to hip-hop.

One man even sang "Pants on the Ground," to which the audience responded positively and sang along ("It's nice how everyone knows that song…" Mercedes had said).

Finally, it came time for an anticipated performance: Adalia.

She was an innocent looking old lady. Her hair was long and lustrous silver. She had on a long black raincoat, slightly tattered. She wore black glasses that indicated she was blind, and she was supported by an antique cane.

The host had guided her to the center stage microphone before rushing off. Two spotlights shown: one on Adalia and one on a professional pianist for accompaniment.

The crowd was silent as the music began with a beautiful piano introduction.

She began singing with the voice of an angel.

_This is a crazy world_

_These can be lonely times_

_It's hard to know who's on your side_

_Most of the time…_

_Who can you really trust?_

_Who do you really know?_

_Is there anybody out there who can make you feel less alone?_

_Sometimes you just can't make it on your own…_

A cymbal roll pushed the first verse into the chorus, in which a drum set silently joined the ensemble.

_If you need a place where you can run_

_If you need a shoulder to cry on_

_I'll always be your friend…_

_When you need some shelter from the rain_

_When you need a healer for your pain_

_I will be there time and time again…_

_When you need someone to love you_

_Here I am…_

The drum set became more evident as the chorus fell into the second verse.

_If you have broken dreams_

_Just lay them all on me._

_I'll be the one who understands_

_So take my hand_

_If there is emptiness_

_You know I'll do my best_

_To fill you up with all the love_

_That I can show someone_

_I promise you you'll never walk alone!_

With beautiful, powerful vocals, the verse drifted into the chorus for a second time, at which time a small orchestra had been revealed by spotlight accompanying Adalia.

_Well, if you need a place where you can run_

_If you need a shoulder to cry on_

_I'll always be your friend…_

_When you need a shelter from the rain_

_When you need a healer for your pain_

_I will be there time and time again…_

_When you need someone to love you_

_Here I am!_

The song entered a contradictory bridge, featuring a stately string section.

_Everybody needs somebody who_

_Could keep a heart and soul in two_

The instruments died down, leaving Adalia and the piano alone in one last emotional repeat of the beginning of the chorus.

_If you need a place where you can run…_

_If you need a shoulder to cry on…_

_I'll always be your friend…_

The background music made a powerful return for one final statement.

_When you need a shelter from the rain_

_When you need a healer for your pain_

For one last time, all instruments except piano died down. Adalia brought the song to a quiet finish.

_I will be there time and time again_

_When you need someone to love you_

_Here I am._

A few moments of silence passed before the crowd erupted with tremendous applause and a standing ovation. It didn't seem like there was a single dry eye in the room. Through the lengthy applause, Quinn turned to Mercedes.

"I don't know if I even _want_ them to win anymore…" she said. Mercedes agreed. They knew how badly Adalia deserved the prize now.

The host came out and took the microphone. "I feel sorry for whoever has to follow up on that performance!" he said, which he promptly followed with an introduction of the next act, New Directions.

Rachel shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "I'm not performing with them, but I'm so nervous…It's…frightening," she said. Finn grabbed her hand reassuringly.

After much consideration, it was agreed that Mike, Matt, Tina, and Brittany would perform the vocals, with Mike and Matt doubling on piano and keyboard respectively. Artie would take care of the percussion in the song, joining the vocals toward the end.

Mike began with his trademark piano solo, being joined by Matt on the keyboard after the first phrase.

Matt started off with a solo.

_I was thinking 'bout you_

_Thinking 'bout me_

_Thinking 'bout us_

_What we're gonna be_

_Open my eyes_

Tina joined:

_It was only just a dream…_

Tina took over the second half of the chorus.

_Travel back_

_Down that road_

_Will you come back?_

_No one knows_

_I realize_

The two harmonized one last time.

_It was only just a dream._

Artie joined on the drum set. Matt took control during the first verse.

_I was at the top and now it's like I'm in the basement_

_Number one spot now you found you a replacement_

_I swear now that I can't take it_

_Knowing somebody's got my baby._

_And now you ain't around, baby I can't think_

_I should've put it down, should've got that ring_

'_Cause I can still feel it in the air_

_See your pretty face, run my fingers through your hair_

_My lover, my life_

_My baby, my wife_

_You left me, I'm tied_

'_Cause I know that it just ain't right_

Mike and Brittany took over for the chorus, harmonizing perfectly.

_I was thinking 'bout you_

_Thinking 'bout me_

_Thinking 'bout us_

_What we gonna be_

_Open my eyes_

_It was only just a dream…_

_So I travel back_

_Down that road_

_Will you come back?_

_No one knows_

_I realize_

_It was only just a dream…_

Brittany stepped forward and claimed her own powerful solo in the next verse.

_When I'm riding, I swear I see your face at every turn_

_I'm trying to get my Usher on but I can't let it burn_

_And I just hope you know that you're the only one I yearn for_

_No one will I be missing when I learn_

_Didn't give it all my love, I guess now I got my payback_

_Now I'm in the club thinking all about you baby_

_Hey, you were so easy to love_

_But wait, I guess our love wasn't enough_

_I'm going through it every time that I'm alone_

_And now I'm wishing that you'd pick up the phone_

_But you made a decision that you wanted to move on_

'_Cause I was wrong…_

Matt and Tina returned for the chorus, while Brittany and Mike added a lyrical echo behind them.

_I was thinking 'bout you_

_Thinking 'bout me_

_Thinking 'bout us_

_What we're gonna be_

_Open my eyes_

_It was only just a dream…_

_So I travel back_

_Down that road_

_Will you come back?_

_No one knows_

_I realize_

_It was only just dream…_

Tina and Brittany harmonized for the bridge.

_If you've ever loved somebody, put your hands up._

_If you've ever loved somebody, put your hands up._

_And now they're gone and you're wishing you could give them everything._

Matt and Mike joined to make a sort of round effect.

_Oh, if you've ever loved somebody put your hands up_

_(If you've ever loved somebody put your hands up)_

_If you've ever loved somebody put your hands up_

_(If you've ever loved somebody put your hands up)_

_Now they're gone and you're wishing you could give them…_

All the instruments went silent as Brittany and Tina took total control of the song with the sheer force in their voice for the next part.

_Everything…_

The instruments returned. Matt and Mike repeated the traditional chorus, joined by Artie, while Tina and Brittany added their own vocal spice to it here and there, displaying excellent control over their voice.

_I was thinking 'bout you_

_Thinking 'bout me_

_Thinking 'bout us_

_What we're gonna be_

_Open my eyes (open my eyes!)_

_It was only just a dream (it's just a dream…)_

_So I travel back (travel back!)_

_Down that road (down that road!)_

_Will you come back?_

_No one knows_

_I realize_

_It was only just a dream…_

_I was thinking 'bout you_

_Thinking 'bout me_

_Thinking 'bout us_

_What we're gonna be_

_Open my eyes (open my eyes!)_

_It was only just a dream (it's just, I __**know**__ it's just a dream…)_

_So I travel back_

_Down that road_

_Will you come back?_

_No one knows_

_I realize (I realize!)_

_It was only just a dream… (baby it was just, it was only just a dream…)_

The percussion and strings died down as the singers sang their last few lines.

_No…_

_Oh, it was only just a dream…_

Mike closed the performance with the same piano melody that had entranced the audience from the beginning.

The audience exploded with applause, the most obnoxious of which was the rest of the Glee members who hadn't performed.

The host stepped out.

"Wow!" he said. "Two phenomenal performances in a row! I don't know about you, but I think this is going to be one of the most difficult decisions our judges have ever had to make!"

A few performances were after that, but none were as noteworthy as the previous ones. Finally, all the competitors had performed. The judges took several minutes to discuss, but they soon came to a decision, putting the results in an envelope and giving it to the host. Several acts were called back to the stage, and he proceeded to announce their place in reverse chronological order, starting with eighth place.

Tensions were high as each act was called. Certain performers that were called early on broke down in tears and had to be escorted off the stage. Finally, the third place act was announced, leaving only two acts: Adalia and New Directions.

"And the winner…" the host started. "…of American Idol…" One of the judges cleared his throat and corrected him. "Oh, right…wrong contest. The winner of the talent competition is…" he looked down at the paper of results. "New Directions!"

* * *

**And thus ends the first chapter in months...**

**Originally, Adalia was going to sing "I Will Always Love You" but I figured that song is way too well-known. I had also just seen the movie Prayers for Bobby where I heard the song "Here I Am" and loved it. Such a sad movie...I have never cried so much like...ever.**

**Unless you guys absolutely love songs included in the story like they were in this chapter, don't expect any more performances like that. I did draw my inspiration for future chapters from certain songs, so if it's not a performance, I'll just be sure to make a note telling you about the song that inspired me so you can look it up and understand the situation more.**

**You know, this entire story probably wouldn't exist if I hadn't been inspired by a couple songs, one of which was "Keep Holding On," which Glee did in an episode a while back.**

**Random-sorta-spoiler-thing note: someone is going to die at the end of the story. ;)**

**So...enough reading. If you like this chapter, review. If you like this story, add to favorites and alerts. If you like me as a writer (or as a person in general) add me to your Favorite Author/Author Alert list. Any future Glee story I write will be based in this universe I've created, so expect a sequel.**

**Thank you!**


	11. Emotions

**Your eyes aren't deceiving you. It is, indeed, another chapter! I, personally, like it. It's a lot longer than I originally planned it to be, but it's not even that long.**

**RR!**

**Mathais - Thank you! It always boosts my spirit to hear a good word or two. :)**

**Atsuko Uehara - Haha, I feel like I did the exact opposite of what you said we should do Rachel in this chapter. But don't worry, Rachel will have the opportunity to make it up to everyone in the future!**

**Not much else to say, I guess. Read and Review!**

**Disclaimer: I no own Glee... :(**

* * *

**_Chapter 11 - Emotions_**

_They didn't deserve it. Not one of them._

Rumiko peered on to the competition as she sat back in her seat and scowled.

_This isn't fair. My grandma deserved it. They didn't. She's nice, and kind. She's a good person. They're probably gonna blow it off on something stupid like soda or video games or crap like that. They probably just wanted their five minutes of fame. They probably don't care. And why the hell is she being so nice to them?_

Rumiko watched as her grandmother crossed the stage to joyfully congratulate them.

_They just denied her a chance to live happily! Why isn't she doing anything? Ugh!_

Finally, Adalia made her way off the stage and toward her granddaughter. Rumiko sympathetically jumped up to hug her.

"I'm sorry…"

"It's okay, my child. It's not about the money."

_Yes it is. If you were rich, you wouldn't waste your time here. _She couldn't say that out loud.

"Those kids…they're going to go far," Adalia continued.

"How so?"

"They have ambition. They have passion." Adalia smiled sweetly. "They told me they're going to use the money to drive to Hollywood, to help out a friend."

"Is that so…?"

"It is." Adalia nodded slowly. "I can see them going as far as the sky will let them…then pushing even further. They seem to have no limits…"

Rumiko laughed at the irony. How a blind lady could "see" anyone was beyond her, whether it was metaphorically or literally. Perhaps she had a point. Her grandmother's intuition hadn't been wrong before. But this was such an inexcusable crime on human nature and she couldn't let it go so lightly.

"Why so serious, flower?" Adalia asked. "Loosen up a bit! Smile!"

_Dang, she's good. How'd she know I wasn't smiling?_

Adalia smiled. "It's in the past, now. Let's move forward."

_It's frustrating how she isn't doing anything. Someone should put those kids in their place._

* * *

The group had collected their prize money and joyously left the location. They had decided to stop at a hotel for the remainder of the night to rest for the continuation of their travels. They had continued the routine of splitting up by gender, going to bed, waking up, and get back on the road with little leisurely delay.

They had hoped to make it passed Texas in their next round of driving, but a new crisis in a small town about sixty miles outside of Amarillo forced them to stop. They had gotten a flat tire, and contrary to common sense, they did not have a spare.

Furthermore, the local repair shops weren't open for the weekend. It was something about it being a small town and hardly anyone needing service that often.

So they had stopped at the nearest hotel to wait a couple days.

At first, everyone had been angry at the turn of events. But eventually, they had calmed down, realizing it was the perfect opportunity for them just to hang out, talk about things, and have fun.

They had decided to go out to eat, and had a blast. Puck had tried to order diet water. The waiter was confused, and went as far as asking the manager if they served diet water. All twelve kids couldn't stop laughing.

Then they had gone to a park, one that had a playground and everything. For a while, they all subtracted about ten from their current age to have the time of their lives on the slides and swings. After an intense game of Lava Monster, the kids headed back to the hotel.

Then Kurt had taken Mercedes' phone and changed his contact name to 'God.' He, at the amusement of the rest of the Glee guys, had texted her saying "Why weren't you at church, young missy?" and laughed hysterically as she started to freak out.

Then they had broken a personally established rule, and all gathered together in one hotel room for a big Glee movie night. They had ordered the latest movie on the hotel's T.V. and sat and enjoyed themselves for a couple hours.

Most of all, they had fun. It seemed like everyone forgot their grudges on each other and just tried to have a great time. It seemed natural for them to be so comfortable around each other, and every one of them secretly wished that every moment could be like that.

* * *

It was late, and the movie was over. Everyone had somehow made themselves comfortable on the hotel room floor. Mike still sat up, sitting on the floor but laying against the side of the bed that both Brittany and Santana were sharing. Matt noticed, and got up to sit by his friend, stepping over sleeping bodies in the process.

Everyone but Mike and Matt was asleep.

"Hey," Matt said as he settled by the Asian.

"Hey." They sat in silence for several seconds before Matt spoke again.

"Whatcha doin'?" Matt tried his best to imitate Isabella from Phineas and Ferb, a show he knew Mike loved. Mike laughed wholeheartedly.

"Just thinking."

"About?"

"Today."

Matt nodded understandingly. "Yeah, today was pretty great."

"And everyone was…nice to each other." He said it like it defied the odds of physics.

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No, it just doesn't happen all the time. I wish it did."

Mike sighed and put his head on Matt's shoulder. Matt freaked out on the inside, but smiled slightly on the outside. It quickly went away when Mike sat straight up again.

"Uh…I asked you this question a while ago but you never answered, so…" Mike looked into Matt's eyes, "…are we dating?"

Matt stopped and looked away for a second, deep in thought. He turned back to his friend.

"Well, maybe we should make it official. Will you be my boyfriend?"

Mike smiled the same, genuine smile, before answering with a bubbly "Yes!"

Matt smiled, pleased with the answer. But soon, Mike brought up another familiar question.

"How long is it going to be a secret?"

Matt frowned. "I…don't know."

"Oh…"

Matt looked at Mike and sighed. He could tell Mike didn't want to keep it hidden anymore, and it was hurting to keep the person he cared the most about so unhappy.

"Mike…I'm sorry."

"For?"

"Not being a perfect boyfriend."

Mike was taken aback by this. It sounded right to say Matt was his boyfriend.

"But…" Mike started, but Matt interrupted.

"But I'm not gonna stop trying. Right here, from the start, I'm going to tell you that I won't stop trying. I just need…patience."

Mike nodded understandingly and smiled. "That I can give you."

Mike put his head back on Matt's shoulder. A familiar sensation overwhelmed both of them. A sense that everything was the way it's supposed to be; a sense that everything was perfectly right. But at the same time, there lingered a fear that even the best of dreams have to end eventually.

* * *

**You know, I like to foreshadow. It's fun. ;)**

**Review! Favorite! Add to Alerts! Share on Facebook! Develop a film adaptation! Nah, jk.**


	12. Drugs

**Weird...two updates in one day. It's just that spring break is ending soon and I really didn't want to have to stop writing at such an eventless point in the story. It would produce disastrous results. So, I uploaded another chapter. But there's still one more chapter to go before what I believe will be my favorite point in the story.**

**So, in this chapter, they drive through the state I (reluctantly) call my home: Arizona.**

**It's not my best chapter, or my longest, but I encourage you to _Read_ and _Review_!**

**Disclaimer - I own nothing.**

* * *

Finally, the repair shop opened and the car had a new tire in no time, as well as two spares for each car. They had learned their lesson.

As they stood outside the repair shop with their newly fixed vehicles, they discussed the plan from then on.

"I feel like we should make up for lost time by driving throughout the night!" Rachel proposed.

Most of them objected the idea at first, but Tina agreed. "I don't want my audition to feel rushed and unprepared. I think I would be a lot more comfortable if I could...practice in the hotel beforehand?"

Nobody could argue with Tina. She was, after all, the reason they were on the road trip in the first place.

They were ready to disperse into separate vehicles when Finn caught up with Matt.

"Hey, yo, Matt!" Finn greeted.

"Hey, what's up?" Matt returned nonchalantly.

"I was just wondering…" Finn scratched the back of his head innocently, "…if I could drive?"

Matt hesitated, and Finn took it as his cue to explain. "See, I get really bored sometimes, so I want to drive and make the trip a little…faster. Ya know?"

Matt still wasn't convinced.

"I promise I'm not the bad driver I was when I first started!"

Matt couldn't help but agree. What's worse than hitting a mailman?

"Okay, I trust you," Matt finally concluded, handing Finn the keys.

"Yes! Thank you!" Finn acted as though he just won a prize. Matt laughed.

* * *

Finn was focused on the road like a hawk on its prey. Rachel sat nervously in the passenger seat, jumping at every slight bump or curve in the road as Finn followed the other car, driven by Quinn.

"Rachel, calm down! You're not going to die!" Finn reassured his girlfriend.

"I know. I'm still getting used to the fact that you're driving. Finn Hudson…driving…" Rachel shuddered at her statement. Finn sighed. Nobody seemed to believe in him...

Behind Finn and Rachel sat Matt and Mike, watching carefully for any potential mistakes.

Santana and Brittany were relaxing in the row directly behind them.

The group proceeded like that for a long while, until suddenly, Brittany broke down in tears.

"Brittany?" Santana asked, in shock by the sudden emotional curveball. "…You okay?"

"No…" Brittany said in between sniffs and sobs. "It's Reginald…he's…"

"Not real?"

"Dead…"

Santana shook her head in disbelief, but immediately returned to comforting her friend.

"It'll be okay, everything's going to be fine…" Santana said, taking the blonde into her arms as she sobbed silently. In the front of the car, the Gleeks questioned Brittany's sanity.

"It happened so quickly," Brittany explained. "One second he was chirping happily, the next I could no longer hear his voice…"

"I see…" Santana was confused.

"I think it'll be okay, though. He's going to be in heaven. Cricket heaven. But it's not just crickets, it'll be everyone that he loves. He'll be happy forever…"

_That's a lie. Even if the cricket were real, he'd be in hell. God hates crickets, that's why they're so small and ugly. And a cricket named Reginald? Even worse. Who named him Reginald, anyway? That's like one of those old people names for a guy who lives alone all his life talking to his lamp shades made of animal skin. Yes. Reginald was an old, creepy man-cricket with animal-skin lamp shades. And now he's rotting in hell. _That's what Santana thought. What she said was "Ok." Brittany smiled.

* * *

The sun was starting to set, and the Gleeks were soon driving through the Arizona desert.

"You'd think a desert would have sand," Santana complained. "All I see is dirt. Dirt…and ugly shrubs. It's like we're on Mars, except with ugly shrubs. And the cactuses…they suck. Nothing like the movies. They're deformed and small. I pity the poor people who live here." Everyone agreed before falling into an awkward silence. The only sounds were of the car shifting at every bump, rock, and crack in the road. And there were many on this dirt road, causing Santana's complaining to start up again. "Ugh, I'm never gonna get my sleep like this!" she whined before pulling some type of container out of her small overnight bag.

"What are those?" Brittany asked.

"Drugs."

Brittany looked confused.

"Sleeping pills. You want one?"

"Sure! I like to sleep!" Brittany eagerly accepted the pill and downed it quickly.

Both Matt and Mike thought the pills were a good way to get some sleep, too, and so they asked for one each as well. Rachel accepted one eagerly, seeing as how it would contribute to her "beauty sleep" at such a convenient and welcome time.

Santana coldly denied Finn, however.

"You idiot, you're driving! Do you want to kill all of us?" she nagged.

"Maybe just one…" Finn muttered. No one heard.

Santana sat back in her seat, putting her earphones in to listen to her iPod.

"Well, that's that. I'm going to sleep." Brittany looked at her with puppy-dog eyes. They were enough of an explanation for the Latina. She sighed. "Come here, Brittany." Santana opened her arm as the blonde eagerly scooted in and put her head on her best friend's shoulder. Santana shared one of the earphones with her as they both got comfortable.

Mike, Matt, and Rachel followed suit as they shifted in their own respective seats for a comfortable spot of their own.

Soon, they were all drugged up and fast asleep, leaving Finn virtually alone.

* * *

A couple hours passed, and Finn was starting to get sleepy. Not talking to anyone and focusing on a boring rugged road for miles will do that to a person. He silently cursed himself for wanting to drive in the first place, and then silently cursed Matt for the lack of a radio in his car.

He decided he should do something to keep himself active, so he started counting the yellow lines in the road. When he had gotten to four, he lost count and gave up.

_Okay, stay awake, Finn. Gotta stay awake… _He thought. _Let's look at stuff. Like…Mercedes' license plate…the dirt on the sides of the road…the stars in the sky…the back of my eyelids… _Finn drifted off for a second, but woke up with a start immediately after, swerving the car sharply.

_Woah, that could've been bad. Gotta do something else…_ No one seemed to have woken up from that fumble, so Finn decided on singing to himself. He had made it through all of "Hello, I love you" and half of "I'll Stand by You" before drifting off a second, more lengthy time.

And this time, he drove off the road, straight into the dirt. And in his obliviousness, and the rest of the group's drugged state, as well as Quinn's failure to realize the sudden absence of headlights behind her car, no one noticed how Matt's van was driving deeper and deeper into the desolate desert with no signs of stopping.

What's worse than hitting a mailman, again?

* * *

**Finn AND Rachel making a mistake? Looks like Team Finchel is losing some points. Don't worry, they'll make up for it.**

**No, Reginald is not the character I was talking about who dies. Someone else dies. ;)**

**Reviewing is the latest teen fad! Be a part of the in-crowd and click that little _Review_ button so you can tell me how I'm doing!**

**Thank you!**


	13. Mistakes: Part II

**Wow, another chapter!**

**School starts up again tomorrow...ugh...hopefully I can finish the story within the next couple weeks.**

**This chapter and the next were inspired by the song _Get Over It_ by Avril Lavigne. I encourage you to check it out!**

**Read and Review!**

**Disclaimer - I own nothing.**

* * *

_**Chapter 13 - Mistakes: Part II**_

Finn's eyes slowly and reluctantly opened, bothered by the harsh sunlight shining through the windshield. He made a mental note to buy sunglasses.

As soon as he processed where he was, he gasped and jumped up. All he saw was that dirt Santana has been complaining about; dirt and shrubs for miles and miles in any direction.

_Oh God…ohhhh my God. Crap, crap, crap! _Finn said as he frantically assessed the situation. He looked at the gas tank: empty. He jumped out of the car in a panic, running around searching for the road. All he could see was the tracks the car made further back than the eye could see, although slightly faded from the pervasive desert winds.

_How did I… _Finn's thoughts were interrupted by a shrill scream from the van.

"WHERE THE HELL ARE WE?"

_Crap…Rachel's awake._

Said drama queen stormed out the car, approaching Finn like a vicious carnivore about to tear apart it's meal. Finn considered bolting right then and there. He'd rather die in the desert than face Rachel's wrath. Oh yeah, then there was Santana. Words can't explain the evil of which Santana is capable. Two angry chicks weren't worth it, Finn decided. But he didn't decide fast enough; Rachel was already in his face.

"Care to explain what happened?" she said so sweetly, it scared Finn, like that Chuckie movie.

"I…fell asleep. And…I think I kept driving for miles…and miles…and miles…"

Rachel proceeded to scream at Finn like it was the apocalypse, but her tirade was only interrupted by an equally shrill "HOLY SHIT!" coming from the van, signifying Santana's awakening. She joined Rachel in loudly and maliciously insulting and lecturing the football player. Finn wanted to crawl in a dark hole and die.

Soon, everyone else was awake. Brittany immediately started wandering around. Mike and Matt tried to figure out what happened and debated what they should do.

Matt suddenly felt his phone vibrate, signaling a new message. He looked at it. It wasn't just one new message; he had 44 missed calls and 72 texts from Mercedes, Quinn, and the other Gleeks. He quickly called Mercedes back.

* * *

"Answer your phone, God dang it!" Mercedes pleaded, sending yet another text. They had stopped the car on the side of the highway once they realized they weren't being followed, but they didn't know how long they had been missing because Quinn wasn't paying attention.

"I'm starting to get really worried…" Quinn admitted to her friend.

"Me too…"

"They're probably dead." Puck said from the backseat.

"Puck, shut it!" Kurt yelled.

"Just saying…"

They were interrupted by a sudden phone call from Matt.

"Finally!" Mercedes said as she answered the phone. "Where the hell are you?..."

Mercedes continued the conversation for information about the situation. Once totally informed, they started wondering how to fix it.

They came to decide that Mercedes would turn around and everyone would find the tracks in the road where they drove off, follow the tracks to the car, and give them the extra gas canisters they had purchased after the incident back in the forest. They realized that it may take a few hours to get back to where they got lost, so she told Matt and the rest of them to hang in there.

* * *

Santana and Rachel were still screaming at Finn, Brittany was still wandering around, and Mike and Matt were starting to get bored. Matt walked over to Finn to save him from the wrath of the girls.

"Okay, guys. That's enough, I think Finn gets what he did wrong," he assured.

Santana and Rachel both crossed their arms and pouted. They had never looked more alike.

"Ok, well…" Mike started. "I want to go see if there's any…civilization. If they find us, it'll take a while."

"Yeah, I'll go, too," Matt insisted.

"Why?" Santana sneered. "Why is it that you two do EVERYTHING together?"

"Is that a bad thing?" Mike asked.

"No, but it seems kind of…gay."

"Maybe we are." Mike said, drawing a shocked gasp from Matt.

"Really?" Santana wondered.

Mike didn't know what possessed him to do what happened next. Maybe it was Santana's bitchiness, maybe it was him getting sick of keeping it a secret, but somehow he forgot everything Matt said about patience, every promise the two ever made, turned to Santana, and said "Yeah, Matt and I are dating. Right, Matt?"

Matt was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion. He wasn't ready, but here Mike was trying to yank him out of the closet. He was angry and confused, so he did what he thought would protect him in the long run.

Matt looked Mike straight in the eyes and said simply, "I have no idea what you're talking about. What's your problem?"

Mike's heart shattered. "Oh…ok then…I get it…" He turned around and started to walk away, deeper into the desert.

"Mike!" Mike heard Matt called. He ignored him as he increased his speed to a full out run.

He didn't know what just happened, or what he should have done, but Mike knew that all he wanted to do was get away from there and forget about everything. Life alone would be a lot easier, anyway.

Matt watched, clueless, as Mike fled from him. Ignoring the confused and surprised looks from Santana, Rachel, and Finn, Matt ultimately decided to follow Mike.

A considerable distance away from the rest of the Gleeks, Matt finally caught up with Mike.

"Mike!" Matt said. Mike stopped, but didn't face Matt.

"What?"

"Turn around and talk to me!"

"Why should I?"

"What the hell happened back there?"

Mike finally turned around. "You lied."

"You tried to pull me out of the closet!"

"You made me look stupid!"

"Oh, come on, Mike! Out of everything that just happened, you're worried about what they think of you? Who cares what they think?"

"Obviously you don't believe that!" Mike's voice grew to a yell. "If you did, you wouldn't have denied it! If you did, this wouldn't be a secret anymore!"

"I'm sorry! How many times do I have to tell you I'm not ready?"

"And you're not ready because you're afraid of what they think about you! Yet you're yelling at me for worrying what they think about me! Do you see the circle?"

"Okay, so maybe I shouldn't care what they think. But honestly, you telling them all that without first talking to me about it was really stupid!"

"So now I'm stupid?"

"Yes!" Matt was beyond furious now, motioning with his hands and yelling angrily. "Why the hell should I even try anymore? You're not worth it if you do something that idiotic!"

"I…I just wanted you to be happy…"

"Bullshit! _You_ just want to be happy! And I'm sick and tired of it!"

"Matt…"

"We're over!"

Before Mike could protest, Matt turned around back toward the car and stormed away.

Mike, in an emotional distress, ran a hand through his hair and fell to the ground. He was suddenly alone, and it was eerily quiet. The only exception was the ever-increasing wind and the shifting of the thin desert dirt.

Mike silently cursed himself_. What the hell did I just do?_

* * *

**Ohhhhkay then. Not much of an explanation necessary.**

**Review! :D**


	14. Storms

**Sorry for the wait! The past two weeks has honestly been the busiest weeks of my life.**

**But here's the next chapter! If everything goes as planned, this is the fourth-to-last chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.**

* * *

_**Chapter 14 - Storms**_

_It's over…It's already over…_

Mike sat alone in the desert dirt, the same place Matt had left him just minutes before.

_It's…over. I don't want…to lose him…_

Mike silently sulked, suddenly remembering their conversations earlier, about how Matt just wanted Mike to have patience. He mentally beat himself up for not remembering that when it would've saved them.

Then, Mike considered the fact that Matt had overreacted, getting so mad like that.

Or maybe Mike himself overreacted.

Maybe they were both to blame?

Mike shook his head and sighed. Thinking about it was practically mental suicide. He gave up, putting his head between his knees, closing his eyes, and trying to completely clear his mind.

It wasn't working.

* * *

Upon returning to the van, Matt was confronted by his fellow Glee clubbers.

"Do you want us to go talk to him?" Finn suggested.

"He probably just wants some time alone," Matt said, adding a little too much ice in his words than he planned. Avoiding eye contact with the rest of the group, Matt slipped away to the van, opened the door, and jumped into the driver's seat. Before anyone could ask what was wrong, he slammed it shut.

"Okay then…" Finn sighed, leaning against the van. Santana shook her head in disbelief. Rachel scratched the back of her neck awkwardly.

Curious, Brittany skipped over to the passenger side door. Upon realizing it was locked, she peered through the window expectantly.

Matt noticed Brittany try to enter the car, and he considered not letting her in. He needed time alone, after all. But as soon as he noticed her innocent, ocean blue eyes, he had a feeling in his stomach that she could make this all better. He reached over and flipped the lock's switch to let her in. She smiled and hopped in, closing the door behind her.

"Hey, Matt!" She said enthusiastically.

"Hey…" he greeted half-heartedly.

"You okay?"

"Yeah…"

They sat in silence for a short while before Brittany spoke up again. "You and Mike are really good friends, huh?"

"Yeah…well, I mean, we _were_."

"Was it something more?"

Matt was taken aback by the sudden question. Before he could answer, Brittany continued. "We all could see it, you know. You look at him like he's the answer to all your problems. You have that signature glimmer in your eyes that screams 'This is love!' And he has that exact same look, too. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that the chemistry between you two is unmistakably real."

Matt couldn't believe his ears. This was all coming from the girl who thought 'home-made' meant 'grown in the walls of a house.'

Brittany continued, "Look, I don't know exactly what happened. I don't know who made what mistakes, or how bad they were. But I do know that, no matter what the mistakes were, love can always find a way. If it's true, it's going to work out."

Matt smiled slightly. They were interrupted by banging on the backseat doors. Matt clicked the button to unlock the doors, letting Finn, Rachel, and Santana inside.

"It's getting really windy!" Finn said. "Like, dirt and stuff is flying around."

Matt looked out the window. It was true; dust seemed to be picking up quickly. But even more alarming was the huge, light brown cloud materializing in the distance.

Thinking about what Brittany said, Matt sighed. "I should go get Mike."

"Well then...hurry up! This looks bad!" Rachel insisted. Matt nodded.

Opening the door required more work than usual as the wind was pushing violently against the van.

He shut the door quickly and tried to keep his balance against the wind as he walked as fast as possible toward Mike. He had to shield his eyes from the dust violently flying around with the wind. It became increasingly difficult to see, but Matt could still make out the silhouette of Mike sitting alone off in the distance.

With every step Matt made, the wind seemed to become even harsher, and the brown cloud in the distance seemed to get even bigger and closer.

At last, Matt reached Mike, who seemed to have passed out. Matt could barely stand himself, and realized how impossible it would be to get Mike back to the van.

Squinting through the flying dust, Matt saw the same brown cloud approaching quickly. It must've been twenty feet tall and traveling at least sixty miles-per-hour. It was honestly a sight he's only seen in movies and history books, and he really thought it looked like the apocalypse was coming closer and closer.

Unable to even stand anymore, Matt prioritized protecting Mike from the dust storm. Matt pulled the unconscious Mike into his arms, covering his face with his shirt, before he ducked his own head to protect himself from the impending doom.

* * *

The rest of the group sat in the van, worried. They couldn't open the door from the harsh storm.

They had called Mercedes during the event to see where she was. Apparently, the storm had reached her, too, and she had to pull over because it was getting too bad to drive in.

All they could do was wait for it to blow over.

And about half an hour later, it did. As quickly as it came, the dust storm subsided. It was still windy, but dust was not traveling on the breezes anymore.

Finn quickly hopped out of the car, jogging toward Matt and Mike. Once he caught up, he noticed how Mike was unconscious and Matt was still protecting him. Matt noticed Finn approaching, and stood up, trying to pick Mike up with him. Finn quickly helped carry Mike back to the van.

Santana, Rachel, and Brittany hastily made room in the backseat of the van for Mike to lie down. Matt and Finn set him down gently. His breathing was slightly slowed, but otherwise normal. He was scratched up from the dust, and dirt had collected in his hair. Overall, it seemed like he would be okay.

Matt was also slightly shaken up by the storm, so Rachel and Finn suggested he sit down and rest. Though he wanted to look over Mike, Matt's body screamed at him to rest, and so he had to.

While Santana and Brittany watched over Mike and Matt, who were now both unconscious, Finn and Rachel were standing outside the van.

Finn started dialing Mercedes' number before Rachel suddenly gasped. Finn looked over at her, confused. "What's wrong?"

Rachel pointed toward the wheels of the van.

Finn inspected the area closely before coming to a conclusion. "I give up. I don't see anything."

"Exactly!" Rachel said. "The tracks are gone!"

* * *

**So that was a short chapter...and not my best.**

**But honestly, I really just want to finish it. I'm excited for the ending of this story, but I'm even more excited because I've been planning a sequel in my head for the past couple weeks.**

**I don't want to say too much, but I'm thinking it would take place during Season 3. In fact, it would be my version of Season 3, and I sort of hope to complete it before Season 3 of Glee even starts. I'm thinking it would feature Mike, Sam, Blaine, Kurt, Santana, and Brittany more than any one else...?**

**But we'll see...**

**Review! :D**


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